A FORMER presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, has dismissed claims by former President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram terrorists once nominated the late President Muhammadu Buhari as their mediator in proposed talks with the Federal Government.
In a statement issued on Friday sent to News Point Nigeria, Shehu described Jonathan’s remark as “false, misleading, and politically motivated,” warning the former president to stop “rewriting history” as part of a potential bid for the 2027 presidency.
According to Shehu, neither Boko Haram’s founder, Muhammed Yusuf, nor his successor, Abubakar Shekau, ever nominated Buhari for such a role.
On the contrary, he said, the extremist group repeatedly denounced and even attempted to assassinate Buhari, citing the 2014 Kaduna bomb attack in which Buhari narrowly escaped death but some of his aides sustained serious injuries.
“Jonathan is making a false start if he thinks he can win 2027 elections on such claims,” Shehu stated.
The controversy dates back to 2012–2013 when a faction of Boko Haram, through one Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, claimed that Buhari, alongside other prominent Northern leaders such as the late Shettima Ali Monguno and Ambassador Gaji Gatimari, should act as mediators between the sect and the Federal Government.
However, Buhari’s party at the time, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), quickly denied the reports. The party’s National Secretary, Engr. Buba Galadima, disclosed that Buhari himself had never been contacted and dismissed the supposed nomination as mere speculation.
Rotimi Fashakin, then CPC’s National Publicity Secretary (now late), also rejected the claim, insisting Buhari had “never been directly or remotely connected with any insurgency,” and accused Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using the story for political purposes.
Shehu’s statement further recalled that CPC leaders at the time had accused the PDP of exploiting insecurity for political advantage.
Fashakin had even alleged that “Political Boko Haram” was being sponsored by elements within Jonathan’s government, citing revelations by the State Security Service (SSS) and former National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi, who said Boko Haram had infiltrated government.
Reiterating that Buhari was a patriot and committed opponent of Boko Haram, Shehu said Jonathan should stop linking Buhari with terrorism:
“Without any scintilla of doubt, Buhari never aligned with Boko Haram. He fought them politically, ideologically, and as Commander-in-Chief.
“For Jonathan to resurrect this falsehood is an insult to history and to the memory of those who died in the fight against terrorism.”
Shehu concluded by urging Jonathan to “find a better story” if he intends to contest the 2027 elections.