Former presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, has dismissed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s claim that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was once nominated by Boko Haram to mediate between the insurgents and the Federal Government.
In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, Shehu described Jonathan’s assertion as “false and misleading,” stressing that neither the late Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, nor his successor, Abubakar Shekau, ever considered Buhari for such a role.
He recalled that Boko Haram had, in fact, repeatedly denounced Buhari and even targeted his convoy in a 2014 bomb attack in Kaduna.
According to Shehu, the speculation stemmed from a 2012 press briefing in Maiduguri by a faction of the group led by Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, which listed Buhari and some northern elders as possible mediators. However, Shekau later disowned the statement, declaring Abdulaziz had no mandate to speak for Boko Haram.
Shehu further noted that at the time, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) swiftly denied the alleged nomination. It was then that National Secretary, Buba Galadima, and National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, publicly stated that Buhari had no knowledge of, or connection with, the matter.
Quoting Fashakin, Shehu said: “Without any scintilla of equivocation, General Muhammadu Buhari has never been directly or remotely connected with any insurrection or insurgency against the Nigerian nation and her people. He remains the quintessential patriot.”
The former presidential aide also alleged that Jonathan’s administration bore responsibility for escalating insecurity during its tenure, accusing the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of politicising the Boko Haram crisis.
He added that Jonathan’s recent comments amounted to an attempt to “rewrite history” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“To win in 2027, Dr Jonathan should look for a better story to tell Nigerians,” Shehu said
