A former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, has denied reports claiming that he linked his successor, late former President Muhammadu Buhari, with Boko Haram.
Jonathan in a statement issued through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Eze, on Saturday, described circulating reports as “gross misrepresentations” of his recent remarks.
The former President maintained that he never linked Buhari with Boko Haram.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the controversy began after Jonathan, speaking at the launch of Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum—a new book by retired General Lucky Irabor, former Chief of Defence Staff— recounted a 2012 incident where a fringe Boko Haram faction, led by one Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, publicly named Buhari among northern elders as a potential mediator in stalled peace talks with the government.
Jonathan had stated: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.
“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and have a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.
However, the statement had generated massive reactions with Garba Shehu, former spokesperson to Buhari, refuting the claim as “false and politically motivated”.
Shehu stated: “We are compelled to make a response to a terrible statement made on the late president Muhammadu Buhari by his predecessor in office, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to the effect that Boko Haram had nominated him to represent them in a dialogue with the government.
“If this is a campaign statement towards his bid for the presidency in 2027, we want to say to him that “Mr. Jonathan, you are making a false start.”
“Muhammed Yusuf or Abubakar Shekau, the deceased leaders of the Boko Haram terrorist group, never nominated Muhammadu Buhari for any such role. In fact, Shekau routinely denounced and threatened Buhari, and their ideologies were in direct opposition.”
Clarifying his statement, Jonathan said reports claiming he linked Buhari with Boko Haram were false, maintaining that comments were part of a broader reflection on Nigeria’s security challenges and were meant to highlight the deceptive tactics employed by Boko Haram in its early days.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Office of Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been drawn to misleading reports circulating in sections of the media suggesting that Dr Jonathan alleged that Boko Haram nominated the late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to represent them in dialogue with the Federal Government, and therefore this made him somehow complicit in the Boko Haram crisis.
“We wish to make it abundantly clear that the former President’s comments were grossly misrepresented. At no time did Dr Jonathan suggest, imply, or insinuate that President Buhari had any connection with Boko Haram or that he supported the group in any form.
“Dr Jonathan’s remarks, made in the course of a broader discussion on Nigeria’s security challenges, were meant to illustrate the deviousness and manipulative strategies employed by Boko Haram in their early years.
“His reference was to a well-documented episode when various individuals and factions falsely claimed to represent the terrorist group and purported to name prominent Nigerians as possible mediators, without those individuals’ knowledge or consent.
“The point Dr Jonathan sought to make was that Boko Haram, in its characteristic deceit, often invoked the names of respected public figures to sow confusion, exploit political divisions, and undermine public confidence in government.
“His comments were therefore an illustration of the group’s duplicity, not an accusation against the late former president or any individual, for that matter.
“The former president’s position was that if indeed Buhari was their choice negotiator, why didn’t Boko Haram expeditiously bring their evil terrorist agenda to an end when the retired General became president?
“For the avoidance of doubt, Dr Jonathan recognises that President Muhammadu Buhari, like every patriotic Nigerian, stood firmly against terrorism and was himself a target of Boko Haram violence. Both men, during their respective tenures, shared a common commitment to restoring peace and stability to Nigeria.”
