Dalung Urges FG to Name Sponsors of Terrorism

Former Sports Minister Solomon Dalung has urged the Federal Government to publicly disclose the identities of individuals sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria, warning that failure to do so risks further insecurity and erosion of public trust.

In a statement on Thursday, Dalung, a Plateau State-born politician, criticized the government for repeatedly failing to name or prosecute financiers of terrorism despite claiming to have gathered evidence. He accused authorities of resorting to distractions and half-truths rather than decisive action.

Dalung also criticized comments by Yusuf Gagdi, the lawmaker representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency, who opposed the creation of a state police. He described both Gagdi’s stance and the government’s reluctance to prosecute terror sponsors as “hypocritical and absurd,” noting that Gagdi’s own constituency has suffered repeated attacks, kidnappings, killings, and displacement without accountability.

Highlighting past allegations against public figures, Dalung asked why individuals such as Senator Shehu Buba of Bauchi South and former Kaduna Governor Nasiru El-Rufai both previously accused of aiding terrorists have not been questioned or prosecuted. He further recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, had promised to release the names of financiers, but this has not happened.

“Past instances, including reports that the UAE submitted names of Nigerian terrorist sponsors to the government, remain unresolved,” Dalung said.

He warned that unless names are released, prosecutions initiated, and constitutional reforms such as state and community policing enacted, Nigeria risks heightened insecurity, mass displacement, and further loss of confidence in government.