Boko Haram Financiers Known but Not Named — Buratai

Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), has said individuals financing terrorism in Nigeria are known to authorities, but their identities have not been made public for undisclosed reasons.

 

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Buratai stressed that he should not be held responsible for the non-disclosure of the alleged financiers.

 

“You cannot say I should be responsible for naming the financiers of terror. It’s not just about mentioning names; those agencies know why the names are not released,” he said.

 

He added that the individuals behind the funding of insurgent activities are still within society, insisting that relevant agencies are aware of them and should take necessary action.

 

Buratai also clarified that the rehabilitation of repentant Boko Haram members was a government decision, not solely that of the military.

 

“The initial concept was to give them a timeline to surrender in 2016. Once they did, we granted them free passage and handed them over to appropriate agencies for rehabilitation,” he explained.

 

The former Army Chief expressed concern over Nigeria’s lingering security challenges, calling for stronger intelligence gathering and increased recruitment of security personnel to combat terrorism effectively.

 

His remarks come amid longstanding calls for the public naming and prosecution of terrorism financiers, especially after the Federal Government in 2021 announced that several suspects had been identified.

 

Despite repeated assurances and investigations by agencies such as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the identities of those allegedly funding insurgency have remained undisclosed, drawing criticism from civil society groups and security analysts.

 

Nigeria has faced a prolonged insurgency in the North-East, with Boko Haram and its affiliates responsible for thousands of deaths and mass displacement over the past decade.