Amnesty International accuses Badeh, Minimah, Ihejirika, others “potentially” guilty of war crimes

Global human rights organisation, Amnesty International (AI) has called for the immediate investigation of top past and present military commanders for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Nigeria military in its fight against Islamist extremist insurgents, Boko Haram.

Alex Badeh Ibrahim Seid Mahamat

A report released Wednesday titled: Stars on their shoulders. Blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military, AI alleged that over 7,000 men and boys suspected to be member of the Boko Haram have died in military detention since March 2011, and more than 1,200 others have been unlawfully killed since February 2012.

Amnesty International claimed that the report provides compelling evidence gathered from interviews with over 400 victims, senior military officials, and leaked military reports and correspondences to warrant investigations into “individual and command responsibilities of soldiers, and mid-level and senior-level military commanders up to the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff who should be investigated for the alleged war crime and crime against humanity”.

The report further listed nine former and present top military commanders that should be investigated. They include: Major General John A.H. Ewansiha, Major General Obida T Ethnan, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, Brigadier General Austin O. Edokpayi, and Brigadier General Rufus O. Bamigboye for potential individual or command responsibility for the war crimes of murder, torture and enforced disappearance.

Other top military commanders named by AI are: General Azubuike Ihejirika, Chief of Army Staff, Sept 2010 – Jan 2014, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, Chief of Defence Staff, Oct 2012 – Jan 2014, Air Chief Marshal Badeh, Chief of Defence Staff, Jan 2014 – date, General Ken Minimah, Chief of Army Staff, Jan 2014 -date, whom AI said should be investigated for “potential command responsibility for crimes of murder, torture and enforced disappearance committed by their subordinates.” The organisation further added that the above persons should be held responsible if they knew of the commission these crimes and did not take appropriate steps to prevent them or ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

AI therefore called on the Nigerian government to undertake prompt, independent and effective investigations of the allegations.

“This sickening evidence exposes how thousands of young men and boys have been arbitrarily arrested and deliberately killed or left to die in detention in the most horrific conditions. It provides strong grounds for investigations into the possible criminal responsibility of members of the military, including those at the highest levels,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Whilst an urgent and impartial investigation of these war crimes is vital, this report is not just about the criminal responsibility of individuals. It is also about the responsibility of Nigeria’s leadership to act decisively to end the pervasive culture of impunity within the armed forces,” he added.

Gruesome and Horrific treatment of Detainees

The report revealed gruesome and horrific treatment of suspects, some as young as nine years old. Ii said the military used summary executions, mass murder, starvation, suffocation and torture against the victims.

According to the report, the over 20,000 young men arrested by the military in the northeast since the war with Boko Haram were kept in “extremely overcrowded, unventilated cells without sanitary facilities and with little food or water. Many are subjected to torture and thousands have died from ill-treatment and as a result of dire detention conditions.”

One former detainee quoted in the report told AI that: “All I know was that once you get detained by the soldiers and taken to Giwa [military barracks], your life is finished.”

A top military source allegedly told AI that 683 detainees died in military custody between October 2012 and and February 2013. Further evidence also obtained by the organisation shows in 2013 4,700 bodies were brought to a mortuary from a detention facility in Giwa Baracks, Maiduguri and in June alone more than 1,400 corpses were delivered in to the mortuary.

“The soldiers said: “Welcome to your die house. Welcome to your place of death,” a detainee who spent four months in Giwa Baracks told AI. He said only 11 of the 122 men he was arrested with survived.

Sometimes up to 300 inmates were kept in a tiny cell and communicable diseases such as cholera were rife at the centres.

The detainees are mostly denied of food and water that they sometime rely on drinking others urine for survival, the report claimed.

“Hundreds have been killed in detention either (by soldiers) shooting them or by suffocation,” a military officer told AI

AI said it confirmed that on a single day, 19 June 2013, 47 detainees died there as a result of suffocation.

Most of the victims died from chemical inhalation from the fumigation meant to stop the spread of diseases.

The organisation also revealed that most of the killing were in form of reprisal actions after Boko Haram attacks.

In some cases the military will round up all the young men in a community and kill them under the guise of carrying out mop up operations.

Top commanders knew

Amnesty International alleges that top military commander including the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, were regularly informed of operations conducted in north-east Nigeria likely to be were aware of the atrocities allegedly committed.

“Evidence shows that senior military leaders knew, or should have known, about the nature and scale of the crimes being committed. Internal military documents show that they were updated on the high rates of deaths among detainees through daily field reports, letters and assessment reports sent by field commanders to Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and Army Headquarters,” the report stated.

“Amnesty International has seen numerous requests and reminders sent from commanders in the field to DHQ warning of the rise in the number of deaths in custody, the dangers of fumigation and requesting a transfer of detainees. In addition, reports by teams sent by DHQ to assess military facilities and “authenticate data”, highlight death rates and warn that overcrowding was causing serious health problems and could lead to “an epidemic,” it added.”

“Despite being informed of the death rates and conditions of detention, Nigerian military officials consistently failed to take meaningful action. Those in charge of detention facilities, as well as their commanders at army and defence headquarters, must be investigated,” said Salil Shetty.

Amnesty International accuses Badeh, Minimah, Ihejirika, others “potentially” guilty of war crimes

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, has instituted a N100bn libel suit against a self-styled Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davies, for accusing him (Ihejirika) of sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgent group. Ihejirika filed the suit before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja. He is, through his team of lawyers, comprising Chief Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN), Prof. C.U. Ilegbune (SAN), and Ben Anechebe (SAN), seeking N100bn as aggravated damages for defamation. The plaintiff’s lawyers said their client “has suffered grievous wrong and he has been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and his character, credit and reputation brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.” He had obtained an order of the court to serve the process on the defendant abroad. His lawyers had also, on the strength of the court order, applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable them to serve Davis who lives in Perth, Australia. Australia and Nigeria are members of the Commonwealth and a special procedure applies when serving court processes on a defendant. Ihejirika is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Davis or his agents from further making defamatory comments about him. He also seeks an order compelling the defendant to publish “a full and unqualified retraction and apology conspicuously in the front page of a newspaper to assuage the plaintiff for the said false, malicious and libelous publication.” Ihejirika said that he retired meritoriously from the military after a successful career and that he served the army without blemish. He stated, “On or about the 28th day of August 2014, the defendant granted a multimedia and television interview broadcast to AriseTv, which aired in Nigeria, particularly in Abuja, and subsequently published by numerous newspapers and media houses; wherein the defendant when asked during the AriseNews segment of the interview to name the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, falsely and maliciously spoke of the plaintiff in the following words, to wit: ’’There is the former Chief of Army Staff, retired January, or actually sacked by the President; he is another sponsor. I could give you the names if you like but I have no fear that these were very confident and it is in fact Boko Haram senior commanders who have been naming them. ‘’ He said that the spoken words and publication in their ordinary meaning were understood by reasonable members of the society who listened or watched the said AriseNews broadcast in Abuja, to mean that he sponsored Boko Haram, a terrorist sect, to wage war, insurrection or insurgency against Nigeria. He also said that the publication implied that he did not retire but was sacked by the President and that he had committed treason or treasonable felony. Ihejirika said the public who listened to the broadcast believed that he had conducted himself in a manner tantamount to breaching his oath of allegiance and service as a soldier and senior officer in the Nigerian Army. In an affidavit he deposed to, Ihejirika said he had suffered grievous wrong and had been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and that his character, credit and reputation were brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, has instituted a N100bn libel suit against a self-styled Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davies, for accusing him (Ihejirika) of sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgent group.

Gen. Ihejirika

Ihejirika filed the suit before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

He is, through his team of lawyers, comprising Chief Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN), Prof. C.U. Ilegbune (SAN), and Ben Anechebe (SAN), seeking N100bn as aggravated damages for defamation.

The plaintiff’s lawyers said their client “has suffered grievous wrong and he has been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and his character, credit and reputation brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.”

He had obtained an order of the court to serve the process on the defendant abroad.

His lawyers had also, on the strength of the court order, applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable them to serve Davis who lives in Perth, Australia.

Australia and Nigeria are members of the Commonwealth and a special procedure applies when serving court processes on a defendant.

Ihejirika is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Davis or his agents from further making defamatory comments about him.

He also seeks an order compelling the defendant to publish “a full and unqualified retraction and apology conspicuously in the front page of a newspaper to assuage the plaintiff for the said false, malicious and libelous publication.”

Ihejirika said that he retired meritoriously from the military after a successful career and that he served the army without blemish.

He stated, “On or about the 28th day of August 2014, the defendant granted a multimedia and television interview broadcast to AriseTv, which aired in Nigeria, particularly in Abuja, and subsequently published by numerous newspapers and media houses; wherein the defendant when asked during the AriseNews segment of the interview to name the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, falsely and maliciously spoke of the plaintiff in the following words, to wit: ’’There is the former Chief of Army Staff, retired January, or actually sacked by the President; he is another sponsor. I could give you the names if you like but I have no fear that these were very confident and it is in fact Boko Haram senior commanders who have been naming them. ‘’

He said that the spoken words and publication in their ordinary meaning were understood by reasonable members of the society who listened or watched the said AriseNews broadcast in Abuja, to mean that he sponsored Boko Haram, a terrorist sect, to wage war, insurrection or insurgency against Nigeria.

He also said that the publication implied that he did not retire but was sacked by the President and that he had committed treason or treasonable felony.

Ihejirika said the public who listened to the broadcast believed that he had conducted himself in a manner tantamount to breaching his oath of allegiance and service as a soldier and senior officer in the Nigerian Army.

In an affidavit he deposed to, Ihejirika said he had suffered grievous wrong and had been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and that his character, credit and reputation were brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.

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A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, has instituted a N100bn libel suit against a self-styled Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davies, for accusing him (Ihejirika) of sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgent group. Ihejirika filed the suit before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja. He is, through his team of lawyers, comprising Chief Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN), Prof. C.U. Ilegbune (SAN), and Ben Anechebe (SAN), seeking N100bn as aggravated damages for defamation. The plaintiff’s lawyers said their client “has suffered grievous wrong and he has been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and his character, credit and reputation brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.” He had obtained an order of the court to serve the process on the defendant abroad. His lawyers had also, on the strength of the court order, applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable them to serve Davis who lives in Perth, Australia. Australia and Nigeria are members of the Commonwealth and a special procedure applies when serving court processes on a defendant. Ihejirika is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Davis or his agents from further making defamatory comments about him. He also seeks an order compelling the defendant to publish “a full and unqualified retraction and apology conspicuously in the front page of a newspaper to assuage the plaintiff for the said false, malicious and libelous publication.” Ihejirika said that he retired meritoriously from the military after a successful career and that he served the army without blemish. He stated, “On or about the 28th day of August 2014, the defendant granted a multimedia and television interview broadcast to AriseTv, which aired in Nigeria, particularly in Abuja, and subsequently published by numerous newspapers and media houses; wherein the defendant when asked during the AriseNews segment of the interview to name the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, falsely and maliciously spoke of the plaintiff in the following words, to wit: ’’There is the former Chief of Army Staff, retired January, or actually sacked by the President; he is another sponsor. I could give you the names if you like but I have no fear that these were very confident and it is in fact Boko Haram senior commanders who have been naming them. ‘’ He said that the spoken words and publication in their ordinary meaning were understood by reasonable members of the society who listened or watched the said AriseNews broadcast in Abuja, to mean that he sponsored Boko Haram, a terrorist sect, to wage war, insurrection or insurgency against Nigeria. He also said that the publication implied that he did not retire but was sacked by the President and that he had committed treason or treasonable felony. Ihejirika said the public who listened to the broadcast believed that he had conducted himself in a manner tantamount to breaching his oath of allegiance and service as a soldier and senior officer in the Nigerian Army. In an affidavit he deposed to, Ihejirika said he had suffered grievous wrong and had been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and that his character, credit and reputation were brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.

Gen. Azubike Ihejirika and the Sins of the Fathers By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

I don’t give a damn about Gen. Azubike Ihejirika.

For all I care, Ihejirika could be dragged before the ICPC, EFCC, West African Court, European Court or the International Criminal Court. Whatever we want to do, I just want us to follow due process.

Gen. Ihejirika

I cannot vouch for what Gen. Ihejirika did as the Nigeria’s Army Chief with regards to Boko Haram insurgence and security measures put in place to contain them. All I know is that in any other measure visible to an objective mind, Ihejirika was not different from all the other army chiefs Nigeria has produced since the end of the civil war. A look at their names will tell you all that you need to know. They are: Maj Gen. David Ejoor, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, Lt. Gen. Ipoola Alani Akinrinade, Lt. Gen. Gibson Jalo, Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Lt. Gen. Sani Abacha, Lt. Gen. Salihu Ibrahim, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau Mohammed, Maj. Gen. Chris Alli, Maj. Gen. Alwali Kazir, Lt. Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, Lt. Gen. Victor Malu, Lt. Gen. Alexander Ogomudia, Lt. Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, Lt. Gen. Owoye Andrew Azazi, Lt. Gen. Luka Yusuf, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, Lt. Gen. Onyabor Azubuike Ihejirika, and the current man, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Tobiah Minimah. On this list are some of the most despicable characters Nigeria has ever produced.

The most shocking disconnect in Nigerian life has been this long denial of the kind of military that we have. The Nigerian military since its inception has been a brutal military force that is short on professionalism and long on impunity. There may be times before the civil war when the balance was close to the middle. But, since then, it has been a force that is above the law of the land. The problem with our perception of the military arises from the position where we are when we are viewing them.

To those who witnessed the Murtala Muhammed-led Asaba Massacre in October 1967 at the height of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War, the Nigerian military has never been the darling force for good with one the sole aim – to preserve and protect the corporate integrity of Nigeria. Of course, others who were not in that vicinity or know anyone who was a victim may disagree. To those in Odi when the Gen. Victor Malu’s army descended on women, children and old men, and leveled the town and everything standing, the Nigerian military is not one that delivers relief materials in times of crisis or builds bridges across rivers to rescue drowning citizens. For them, the military is a ruthless force that cannot differentiate the good from the bad. And to those in Zaki Biam who bore the brunt of Gen. Ogomudia’s soldiers, the Nigerian military is heartless and vicious.

Ironically, when, on November 20, 1999, the Nigerian army stormed Odi in Bayelsa state to “teach Odi a lesson” because some militants killed 12 policemen, Gen. Malu defended the actions of his soldiers. These soldiers burned down every building they saw, with the exception of a church, a bank and a health center. The number of people killed is still being disputed but it is undoubtedly in the hundreds. Months after, precisely on October 12, 2001, with Gen. Ogomudia now the head of the army, the Nigerian soldiers stormed several villages in Benue state, following the abduction and killing of 19 soldiers. Hundreds of residents in Vasae, Anyii Iorja, Ugba, Sankera and Zaki-Biam were killed. After the devastation wrecked on village women and children and old men became known, Gen. Victor Malu, who hails from Benue, complained about the brutality of the soldiers, something he did not see when the victims were from Odi.

You don’t have to be in their theater of operation to understand the Nigerian military. Just watch when they clash with the Nigerian police or when they are sent in to confront the Nigerian students as they did at Nassarawa State University in February of 2013.

On the contrary, Nigerian soldiers are again and again credited for great performance as peacekeepers under the UN. You may ask, why do Nigerian soldiers perform incredibly well abroad, under the blue helmet, but not at home? The answer is that as peacekeeping force under the UN, they are compelled to follow the universal codes of conduct of a military force. Also they know that all eyes are on them and any failure to abide by the high expectations placed on them would have consequences, among which is the forfeiture of a lucrative assignment abroad.

There is no consequence for military brutality in Nigeria. They can ignore written codes of conduct, due process and best practices without penalties. A federal court in 2013 asked the federal government to pay Odi people N37.6 billion naira in compensation for what happened in 1999. Anyone in Odi waiting for a payment will be dead before a kobo reached him or her. Of course, no army officer was held accountable for the army’s action in Odi or in Zaki-Biam. It, then, follows that such actions will continue.

Whatever Ihejirika did as army chief, he did not use a manual different from the manual the Nigerian army has used in Asaba in 1967, in Odi in 1999, or in Zaki-Biam in 2001. If he did anything different, it must be that he probably did both the good and the bad better than his predecessors. In April 2013, in Baga, Borno state, for instance, Ihejirika’s soldiers under the excuse of fighting Boko Haram killed over 200 people and rendered 10,000 more homeless. Like in all the other cases before it, the government downplayed what happened, scaled down the figures of victims and did nothing to the soldiers who violated their oath. It is not a surprise that it happened again and again under Ihejirika. And it will continue to happen until we insist on due process and best practices.

The most frustrating thing about Nigeria is that we live in denial. Even when inequities are dripping right on our faces, we are unconcerned until we become victims of these injustices. That’s when we cry foul and turn around and wonder why others are not crying with us.

In every case, concerned people amongst us have asked for due process, evidence based approach and for best practices to be followed. But such demands are often rebuked and rebuffed for one flimsy excuse or the other. One of the most irritating excuses is that we are a developing nation, implying that we should wallow in mediocrity until we ‘mature.’ And then we wonder why our nation’s space is dark and why witches loiter, sometimes disguised as rumors, half-baked ideas, and misinformation.

In Ihejirika’s case the witches that have been crawling out of our dark spaces have been enormous. Some are so troubling that they need to be crushed else they grow wings and fly off beyond the reach of our shoes or they mutate and become resistant to any known bactericidal.

The Nigerian army has been notorious for not keeping good records of inventories and procurements. In his Civil War memoir, Olusegun Obasanjo complained about this. 45 years after, the situation has not improved. And this is what all military forces across the world do diligently. Each year, an independent inspector reviews US military inventories and announces to the nation what is missing and what is intact. With a serious inventory the charges that military equipment are being diverted to Boko Haram fighters can easily be traced and proven with concrete evidence. But we won’t do that because we are a developing nation. Then when we need to investigate an allegation we have no means of doing so.

What is most disturbing and in need of serious examination is the suggestion that Ihejirika did what he was accused of doing as a revenge for what the Igbo suffered during Biafra. The proponents of this idea imply that Ihejirika was sponsoring Boko Haram to destroy the North. While this piece is not a defense of Ihejirika, one cannot help but marvel at the Nigerian tendency to default to an escapist cheap answer when a rigorous examination is needed.

There is no debate as to what Boko Haram is. Boko Haram is a baby of the north. The sect’s decision to slaughter people is not an act unheard of in the north. What happened to Boko Haram after its formation is a different matter. Even if Ihejirika is tried and found guilty of sponsoring Boko Haram, it does not erase the fact that Boko Haram is a creation of the north. If the Bakassi Boys had been allowed to thrive and transform into a terrorist group, people in the South-South and South-East should not turn around and blame others for the monster they created.

Having said that, it is important to state that people like Ihejirika are no Biafrans. The simple idea of an Igbo man or woman aspiring to the top echelon of Nigerian life means the denial of anything Biafran. Any iota of sympathy to the Biafran cause is a death sentence for any Igbo person’s federal ambition. In fact, people like Ihejirika are often ferocious in dealing with Biafrans just to prove their one-Nigeria credentials. Sometime ago, an Igbo minister who donated basic necessities to Biafran veterans at Oji River was sanctioned by a Nigerian president.

The constant suggestion at every corner and the perpetual reminder to the Igbo to behave well because they live in other parts of Nigeria and should be grateful that they are allowed to live there flies in the face of all that we claim to be doing- building a nation. There is no ethnic group that does not have bad eggs who exhibit bad behaviors. What sane and serious countries do is to institute due process, embrace best practices and rule of law so that those who disobey the law are punished accordingly.

There are a lot of Igbo people who have of recent embarked on the traditional Nigerian default position of backing an accused member of their ethnic group. As disheartening as it is, it is not an excuse to level wild charges against the Igbo as a group. Carrie Fisher said that resentment is like drinking poison and waiting that the other person to die. And so it is that turning a blind eye to injustice is like burying landmines on the road, the same road we travel on, and hoping that they will hurt others. The only way to stop the sins of the fathers from being visited on the children is to embrace best practices and due process.

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Gen. Azubike Ihejirika and the Sins of the Fathers By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

Ohanaeze gives APC 48 hours to apologise to Ihejirika

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing on Sunday threatened to label the All Progressives Congress an ‘anti-Igbo political party’  if it fails to apologise to former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, within 48 hours.

Boko Haram

The threat, which the Ohanaeze Youth Wing issued in a statement jointly signed by its National Secretary, Emmanuel Nnabuike, and Publicity Secretary, Obinna Adibe, followed the APC’s demand for Iherjika’s prosecution over alleged sponsorship of the Boko Haram sect.

The APC demanded Ijejirika’s prosecution in the wake of claims made by Australian negotiator, Mr. Stephen Davies.

In the statement titled, ‘Ongoing Attempts To Brand Gen. Ihejirika a Boko Haram Sponsor’, the Ohanaeze youths described the negotiator’s claims as “spurious”.

The group expressed regrets that the APC did not bother to ascertain the veracity of his allegations before calling for Ihejirika’s prosecution.

Ohanaeze youths noted that Ihejirika deserved an apology from the APC since the Department of State Security has now absolved him of any involvement with Boko Haram.

It said, “It is on record that the same people trying to frame up Gen. Ihejirika are the same people who claimed they would make Nigeria ungovernable for President Jonathan, in the aftermath of the 2011 presidential election.

“We view the call for Ihejirika’s trial by the APC through its spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, without bothering to confirm the authenticity of the statement, as malicious and premeditated.

“Now that the Director of State Security has officially absolved Ihejirika of any complicity in the matter, we ask the APC to issue an apology to Gen. Ihejirika and Ndigbo within 48 hours.

“If they fail to do so, the APC shall be formally labeled an anti-Igbo party and other sanctions shall follow.”

Continuing, the group described Davies as a “fraudulent character and mercenary”.

It said, “Security is too weighty a matter to be politicised. Therefore it is unpatriotic for political leaders to embark on character assassination based on unsubstantiated and misguided rumours.

“Dr Stephen Davies has shown himself to be a fraudulent character and a mercenary, whose stock in trade is the distortion of information in order to cause chaos, thereby creating more business for him.”

Ohanaeze youth wing added that Davies employed “cheap propaganda tactics” by naming Ihejirika alongside former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, who has been consistently linked with the emergence and sponsorship of Boko Haram as the sect’s sponsor in order to lend credence to his claims in the eyes of “gullible members of the public”.

The group noted that Davies did not provide any evidence or motivation for Ihejirika, a Christian and an Igbo from the South East, to sponsor Boko Haram.

Further casting doubt on his claims, the group noted that his allegation that the Central Bank of Nigeria official who handled the funding of Boko Haram was an uncle to three of the Nyanya bombing suspects was equally disproved by the DSS.

“It is uncharitable for Nigerians to reward someone who laid down his life in defence of his country by associating him with the sponsorship of the sect,” it said.

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Ohanaeze gives APC 48 hours to apologise to Ihejirika

Boko Haram: Igbo Group Condemns Allegation Against Ihejirika

Ndigbo Lagos, a socio-political group, has condemned the statement credited to Stephen Davies, an Australian negotiator between Boko Haram insurgents and the Federal Government, alleging that former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirija (retd) was among those sponsoring the sect.

Lt.-Gen. Ihejirika

In a press release, the group described the allegation as frivolous and a defamation of Ihejirika’s character. It said Davies did not deduce or suggest any piece of evidence to support his accusation and warned against tarnishing Ihejirika’s image.

The statement read in part: “The apparently procured and orchestrated interview on Arise Television, where Ihejirika was alleged to be a sponsor of Boko Haram is in bad taste. Given the lack of evidence, the nature of delivery of the allegation and the character of the accused General, we believe that Ihejirika’s traducers are playing dirty politics.

“General Ihejirika will be remembered for being one of the most outstanding commanders Nigeria has had. He is not only an accomplished tactician but also a strategic leader of a fighting force. In his time, he not only decimated the fighting capability of Boko Haram, but also built enduring military institutions to permanently checkmate insurgency in Nigeria.”

“When Ihejirika retired from the army, the same self-centered northern bigots wanted him tried by the World Court for being ‘overzealous’ in crushing Boko Haram. Eight months down the road, he is accused of being a sponsor.”

We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to institute a high powered enquiry to address this obnoxious allegation and lay it to rest.”

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Boko Haram: Igbo Group Condemns Allegation Against Ihejirika

The grave allegations of Stephen Davis, by Femi Fani-Kayode

I read, in the August 29 edition of Thisday Newspaper, the grave allegations made by an Australian by the name of Mr. Stephen Davis about those that he believes are behind Boko Haram.

He made some very serious allegations; he mentioned names and I would be interested in seeing the hard evidence that he claims to have.

Femi Fani-Kayode

I have always said that I believe that anyone, no matter which political party that person belongs to and no matter how highly placed or powerful that person may be, that is involved with Boko Haram ought to be captured, caged, flogged and brought to justice because I regard such people as nothing but bloodthirsty beasts.

I have also always said that I believe that some of the leading members of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, are secret sponsors and supporters of Boko Haram and I am glad that Mr. Davis appears to share this view and that he has indeed confirmed my worst fears in his celebrated interview with Arise TV.

Similar concerns have been raised and allegations made about the suspicious nexus, the direct link and the questionable relationship between APC and Boko Haram by senior Members of Parliament in the British House of Commons together with a number of leading Russian and American civil and religious institutions, organisations, commentators and political figures.

It is therefore good news that Mr. Davis has confirmed some of our collective suspicions and fears and that he has decided to come out and tell us what he knows given the role that he played in the negotiations to broker a deal to get the Chibok girls released from Boko Haram. I have little doubt that, on the allegation that the APC and Boko Haram are linked, Mr.Davis is absolutely right.

I am not however convinced on the culpability of one or two of the other people that he has fingered. No one should be spared if the evidence is really there but I must say that I find the allegation that, for example, the former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika, is somehow involved with Boko Haram a little far-fetched.

I say this because firstly, the man spent so much of his time, energy, career and resources fighting that same terrorist organisation that he is now being accused of being part of.

Secondly, I say it because that terrorist organisation has killed and continues to kill so many of his own officers and men. And thirdly, I say it because the man is not a Muslim but a Christian and I have never heard of a Christian helping or assisting an Islamist terrorist organisation in their quest to establish an Islamic fundamentalist state or ”new world caliphate” in his country.

This is especially so when that terrorist organisation is committed to wiping out the Christian faith itself and killing every Christian, every secularist and every moderate Muslim in the country. It seems to me that this is an absurd notion and that it really doesn’t make any sense but if the Australian has any hard evidence let us see or hear it.

Again, I disagree strongly with the leading figures in the opposition that have said that the Federal Government and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP are the ones behind Boko Haram. I say this because those individuals know very well that the APC as a party have far more sympathy for Boko Haram and far many more of their leaders and members have spoken up for and in defence of Boko Haram than anyone else.

On Friday, August 29, in Thisday Newspaper, one of those leaders said that the Senator from Borno State that was facing terrorism charges was ”a PDP member”. This is not true. The Senator that he was referring to is Senator Ndume and he is in the APC and not the PDP.

Quite apart from that, certain things need to be noted. Let me remind those that are pointing fingers at the PDP today that it was not a member of the PDP or the Federal Government that, some time in 2013, said Boko Haram should not be proscribed as an organisation, even after they had slaughtered no less than 15,000 innocent Nigerians in cold blood. It was rather the official spokesman of the APC, Lai Mohammed, who said so.

It was not the PDP or any member of the Federal Government that told the world, only in 2013, that they were against the declaration of a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, that an attack on Boko Haram was an attack on the north and that Boko Haram members ought not to be killed but rather they ought to be pampered, granted amnesty and treated in a gentle manner like the Niger Delta militants. It was the leading Presidential aspirant and one of the two co-owners of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, that said so.

It was the same General Buhari who has openly identified with and publiclly endorsed a number of the core objectives of Boko Haram when, as far back as 2001, he told the world that he wanted to ”spread sharia all over the country”, when he said that ”Muslims should only vote for those that would protect their interest”, when he asked ”why should it concern Christians when Muslims chop off the limbs of one another” in accordance with their divine law and when he said, in 2013, that there would be violence and that ”the blood of the dog and the baboon would both flow” if the coming elections were rigged.

It was not the PDP or a member of the Federal Government that told the world three years ago that if President Goodluck Jonathan or any southerner emerged as President in 2011 that ”we would make the country ungovernable”. It was Alhaji Lawal Kaita, a leading member of the APC, that said so.

It was not the PDP or any member of the Federal Government that guaranteed the security of the Chibok girls and insisted that they should go ahead and do their exams at Chibok and that he would provide the necessary security, even after WAEC and the Federal Ministry of Education had written him a letter and warned him that it would be dangerous to do so and that he must not go ahead.

It was the Governor of Borno State, who is a leading member of the APC, that did that. Not only did he not provide the promised security but he also abandoned the girls and left them in the lurch because only one adult, the school gateman, spent the night in the school with those girls despite all the obvious dangers.

Worst still, there was no electricity and no generator functioning at the school throughout the night and neither was there one adult, teacher or supervisor with the girls at the school.

Even more suspicious was the fact that not one of the daughters of any of the staff and teachers that attended that school spent the night with the other girls at the school that night. They were all in the safety of their homes. One wonders why? Was it just a coincidence or did they have prior notice of the impending doom?

The whole Chibok episode is still clouded in mystery but given the fact that the Governor of Borno State is now one of the leading members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign I wonder why he allowed all these lapses to take place and why he behaved in this way?

Was his motive for not taking all reasonable measures to protect those girls political? Is there not more to his actions and inactions than meets the eye? I repeat my constant assertion that Boko Haram is the military wing of the APC and that the APC is the political wing of Boko Haram.

I make this grave and very serious allegation partly because of the aforementioned public utterances and actions of these leading APC members and partly because of a number of other things that I will not say publiclly because Nigerians would be utterly traumatised if they heard them.

There would be an uproar in this country if some of us were to say all that we know about the irresponsible and insidious religious agenda that the APC has and the hideous and shameful things that they are doing and saying behind closed doors.

The suggestion that they never had a plan to have a Muslim/Muslim ticket is a lie from the pit of hell. They may have dropped that plan now due to the fact that ii has generated a good deal of public uproar and outrage but that was their original plan and many of them were hell bent on it and probably still are.

The suggestion that they have not used religion as a political tool is another dirty lie. That is what they have been doing from day one and they are still doing it now. The suggestion that they cannot be equated with or compared to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt or the Sudanese Janjaweed is another lie from the pit of hell.

If anyone has any doubts about that they should just scrutinise the religious composition of both their old and defunct Interim National Executive Commitee and the new one and they will see that it is virtually an all Muslim affair spiced with a few token christians lurking in the shadows and acting as fronts.

Nigeria is a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic secular state and it is exceptionally dangerous to introduce religion into politics and seek to use it to gain political power as the APC are shamelessly doing.

The suggestion that some of their more notable leaders often make that the PDP is linked to Boko Haram in any shape or form or that President Goodluck Jonathan, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) or the High Command of the Nigerian Military, Securiy Agencies and Intelligence Services are sponsoring or supporting Boko Haram is another lie from the pit of hell.

For anyone in the APC to make such an allegation is not only absurd but it is like the pot calling the kettle black. It was rather elements in the APC, and none of those in PDP or any of those organisations that worked day and night to ensure that America did not label Boko Haram a terrorist organisation throughout last year and up until early this year.

This is after the terrorists had killed and abducted so many young and innocent Nigerians. Now the question has to be asked, why was this so? If the APC were not behind Boko Haram why did they not want them to be labelled as terrorists by the Americans and the international community?

Why did they complain morning day and night that the Nigerian military were killing ”innocent northerners” and ”violating human rights” simply because our brave soldiers were risking their lives on the war front and battlefield fighting terror, trying to protect our people and trying to wipe out the enemy.

Some have cited the former National Security Advisor, General Patrick Azazi’s comments as evidence of PDP’s so-called involvement with Boko Haram. They conveniently forget that the elements that Azazi was referring to at that time have now all left the PDP and have now joined the APC.

We do not need any more lessons, finger-pointing or self-serving statements from leaders of the APC or their party about Boko Haram. What we need and what we want from them is for them to stop supporting and encouraging the terrorists and to stop bringing religion into politics.

They should also apologise to the Nigerian people for the shameful things that they have said which has done nothing but encourage the terrorists and the enemies of our people. May God grant them the grace and humility to do so.

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The grave allegations of Stephen Davis, by Femi Fani-Kayode

Australian Negotiator Insists Modu Sheriff, Ihejirika Sponsor Boko Haram

• says Azazi was corrupt

By Sahara Reporters

Stephen Davis, an Australian hostage negotiator who spent some time in Nigeria trying to secure the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State, told SaharaReporters that he stands by his widely reported allegations that former Governor Modu Sherriff of Borno State and a former Chief of Army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika (ret.), were among the top sponsors of the Islamist insurgents who have massacred thousands of Nigerians and foreigners and made the northeast part of Nigeria a highly militarized zone.

Ali Sheriff

In an extensive telephone interview with SaharaReporters yesterday, Dr. Davis also accused an unnamed senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as a man based in Cairo, Egypt whom he claimed operates as Boko Haram’s bagman. He said both men, in addition to Mr. Sheriff and former General Ihejirika, were major players in the funding and continued existence of the deadly Islamist sect.

Dr. Davis told SaharaReporters that he did not want to name the CBN official as this may prejudice investigation by Nigeria’s security services. Both accused men have reacted furiously to Mr. Davis’ allegation, with the former Borno governor threatening to travel to Australia to sue his accuser while Mr. Ihejirika accused former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El Rufai, of being a “commander” of Boko Haram. Three days ago, Mr. El Rufai had posted transcripts and video of Mr. Davis’ accusations of the former governor and ex-Army chief on social media.

Asked whether Mr. El Rufai and former military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, had a hand in funding or sponsoring Boko Haram, Dr. Davis said their names have not been mentioned to him by any Boko Haram connections.

Also, asked to explain why Mr. Ihejirika, a non-Muslim who hails from the predominantly Christian southeastern part of Nigeria, became a Boko Haram “sponsor,” Mr. Davis said, “Boko Haram commanders and some connected with them told me on several occasions Ihejirika was one of their sponsors.”

He also disclosed that Mr. Sheriff always had the best military protection in Nigeria’s violence-plagued northeast, a protection he claimed the ex-governor enjoyed after he left office.

Dr. Davis reiterated that his allegations were informed by discussions he had with several Boko Haram field commanders over a long period of time. Asked if President Goodluck Jonathan was aware of the insurgents’ sponsors and their specific roles, Dr. Davis said he was unsure of the extent of information currently before President Jonathan. He added that Mr. Jonathan had been weakened by lack of military loyalty and a history of security negligence. He gave the example of repeated attempts to bring the growth of Al Qa’eda associated cells to the attention of NSA’s since 2006 only to have them dismiss such reports as baseless. “By the time Goodluck Jonathan became president Boko Haram had become a potent weapon with a command structure embedded in 16 northern states fanned by support from corrupt politicians.”

He further gave the example of Nigeria’s Minister of Defense, Aliyu Gusau, whom he accused of basically leaving Mr. Jonathan to carry his can without taking any responsibility for his work.

The Australian negotiator also revealed that his years working with Nigerian presidents on matters of terrorism had shown that, even when some prominent individuals are known to be involved in criminality, the presidents are simply too afraid to take them on. He cited the example of the Niger Delta region. He told SaharaReporters that he and former President Olusegun Obasanjo found out that Abiye Sekibo, who was then Mr. Obasanjo’s Transport Minister, had contracted the assassins who killed a prominent politician, Harry Marshall. He said he tried to persuade Mr. Obasanjo to prosecute Mr. Sekibo, but the then president declined, stating that such a trial could bring down his government.

Dr. Davis touched on several aspects of Boko Haram activities, showing that he was quite knowledgeable about the sect’s actions. He told SaharaReporters that Boko Haram runs about six major camps in the northeast and neighboring countries, adding that 700 fighters inhabited each camp. In addition there are a range of smaller camps within Borno State, which are often temporary and to which kidnapped girls are taken to be used by the insurgents.

The Australian revealed that earlier this year Boko Haram was a loose coalition of three Islamist militant groups that worked with one another, claiming that, since four months ago, the sects had merged into one single entity, become more cohesive, strategically effective and powerful. “They are now linking with other terrorist group in the region and will soon be very difficult to dismantle. If these political sponsors think they can turn these groups off after the 2015 elections they are going to be surprised to find it is out of their control.”

On why he had chosen to speak out publicly at this time, Dr. Davis stated that, from experience, any terrorist group that has lasted more than eight years after its formation would likely exist for another 20 or more years before it can be dismantled. It thus becomes embedded for a generation and the likelihood of dismantling it was very low. “If we don’t do our utmost now to dismantle Boko Haram then we may not be able to do so for another generation. That is a very gloomy scenario for Nigeria.”

He touched on former National Security Adviser, Owoye Andrew Azazi, whom he described as utterly corrupt. He said Mr. Azazi, who was a retired Army general, was planning to buy into the Hilton hotel chain in London to the tune of $100 million before he died in a helicopter crash on December 15, 2012.

Dr. Davis painted a portrait of Nigeria’s various intelligence units as operating in silos that refuse to share information that could tame terrorist groups. To illustrate his point, the Australian cited the example of the State Security Services. According to him, months after the SSS won the extradition from the Sudan of Aminu Ogwuche, a suspected terror mastermind who reportedly planned the deadly bombing of an Abuja bus station, the intelligence agency had yet to interrogate Mr. Ogwuche about his links with the three young men he reportedly contracted to carry out the bombing.

Dr. Davis said the young men were three in number and that they lived in the home of a CBN official who also carried out banking transactions for Boko Haram through the CBN. He said two other young collaborators in the Nyanya Motor Park bombing remain on the run.

The Australian hostage negotiator vowed to make more revelations about Boko Haram’s sponsors, adding that he believed the sect could only be dismantled if their sponsors were exposed and prosecuted. In particular, he said he could not see why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not already moved on Sheriff for his extensive looting of public funds when he was the Borno State governor, and for leaving the roads in Borno State in a terrible shape that has enabled Boko Haram to ambush Nigeria troops and massacre them mercilessly. He also added that the former governor should face the ultimate trial for financing the recruitment of young men to the Islamist sect.

Dr. Davis dismissed Mr. Sheriff’s threat to travel to Australia to sue him for his statements as grandstanding and seeking to divert attention from the real issue of Mr. Sheriff’s involvement with Boko Haram. He added that he would be pleased to meet the former governor at the airport whenever he developed the courage to come to Australia.

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Australian Negotiator Insists Modu Sheriff, Ihejirika Sponsor Boko Haram

El-Rufai front-line commander of Boko Haram - Ihejirika

ABUJA—FORMER Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Minister, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd), Thursday, accused each other of sponsoring the deadly Boko Haram sect that has been terrorising many parts of northern Nigeria since 2011 with over 5000 people killed.

El-Rufai kick-started the accusations on his Facebook page with a post that read: “Breaking News: Sheriff and Ihejirika Just Named as Boko Haram Kingpins – Arise TV – August 28, 2014.’’

He said: “Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davis has just named former Borno Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff and immediate past Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Ihejirika (removed in January 2014) as the Boko Haram brains on ARISE NEWS.

Nasir Elrufai

“Davis said Boko Haram commanders that he has been negotiating with were the source of this information. The kingpins not only finance Boko Haram operations but select targets for assassination and execution. Finally, the truth about Boko Haram is coming out. Hopefully, the murderers of General Muhammadu Shuwa, the abductors of the Chibok girls, those truly responsible for the Nyanya bombings, and attempted assassination of General Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi will be known.

“We hope the authorities will take the steps necessary to act on this revelation, and thereby discharge their duty to protect us, the citizens of Nigeria. That is just what it is, a hope!”

Reacting to the accusation, General Ihejirika countered that El-Rufai, who is a chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, is one of the front-line commanders of the terrorist group

Speaking with Vanguard over El-Rufai’s allegation, Ihejirika said he is not surprised that this unimaginable allegation is coming from ‘one of the Boko Haram Commanders’ because “The (Commanders) including El-Rufai know where the problem is. He should stop deceiving Nigerians by trying to divert attention.”

According to Ihejirika, “When the Boko Haram operation started, supporters of the sect like El-Rufai said that there was nothing like Boko Haram and that the army was just killing innocent youths. If you also remember, not too long ago, some of their supporters including El-Rufai said that I was re-inventing the killing of the Ibos during the Biafra war following government’s determination to rid the country of terrorism.”

An obviously angry Ihejirika, who spoke on phone, said: “The likes of El-Rufai started the campaign of human right abuses in order to divert international attention from the heinous crime being committed by the Boko Haram terrorists.”

Ihejirika recalled recent allegations that he took away N48 billion, an amount of money he said is still in the coffers of the Ministry of Defence and can be verified by anybody, adding that he was not surprised that this allegation is coming from the likes of El-Rufai who started the campaign.

“The likes of El-Rufai have been supporting Boko Haram. In fact, El-Rufai and his likes are the same group of people that ensured the army did not get the requested equipment to deal with this menace once and for all, as they used their cohorts to tell the government that procuring modern equipment was not necessary.”

Recalling that the same El-Rufai went to This Day Newspaper premises to grant interview to condemn security forces for the efforts to rid the country of the senseless mayhem unleashed by the terrorists, Ihejirika said: “At the onset of this crisis, I was the first person to declare that the country was at war but a group of sponsors led by El-Rufai disagreed, saying that it was not true.

“It is the same group of El-Rufai that started the human rights abuses campaign. It was done in order to block any international assistance after the state of emergency was declared and the sect was initially tamed. That gave Boko Haram time and respite to build up again”.

Furthermore, General Ihejirika said that when the United States was to initially declare Boko Haram a terrorist organization, the same El-Rufai and his group mounted pressure on the international community, using alleged human rights abuses as campaign strategy.

The former Army Chief revealed that this same group including El-Rufai has taken further steps in support of Boko Haram, “which I cannot disclose for now”.

Shortly after his tenure came to an end as COAS, some Northern political elites started the crusade for General Ihejirika to be summoned before the International Criminal Court in the Hague claiming that he killed their sons and daughters innocently in the name of containing the rapid spread of Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

He not only established the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army with headquarters in Maiduguri, he established new Army Brigades, Counter Terrorism Schools in Kachia and Jaji as well as the Terrorism Training School.

A screenshot of El-Rufai’s post on his Facebook wall.

*See Stephen Davis’ interview on Arise News

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El-Rufai front-line commander of Boko Haram - Ihejirika