Peter Obi challenges Buhari regime to expose ‘highly placed’ Boko Haram sponsors, oil thieves

Labour Party’s Peter Obi has challenged the President Muhammadu Buhari regime to name and shame “highly placed” Nigerians who are allegedly financing the Boko Haram insurgency as well as those behind oil theft in the Niger Delta.

“I am struck and intrigued by the news report linking “highly placed” Nigerians to oil theft. The same has been the case with financing insurgency and Boko Haram,” the presidential candidate tweeted on Wednesday. “When will FGN summon the political will to publicly name such persons?”

The federal government had in February announced that it uncovered at least 96 financiers of terrorism and their supporters through the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). 

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information, said the government also unmasked 123 companies and 33 Bureau de Change operators linked with terrorism in the country.

Mr Mohammed, who was reading out the administration achievement then, however, didn’t mention the names of sponsors of terrorism.

But according to the Minister, the NFIU had intelligence exchanges on Boko Haram, ISWAP, banditry, kidnapping, and others with 19 countries.

“For its part, the analysis by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, in 2020-2021, revealed 96 financiers of terrorism in Nigeria, 424 associates/supporters of the financiers, involvement of about 123 companies and 33 Bureaux de Change”, Mr Mohammed said in February. 

Earlier in the month, the federal government declared a “national emergency” over massive pilfering of the country’s crude. Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State on Petroleum Resources, alleged that 400,000 barrels of crude oil was being stolen by criminals per day.

Speaking further in a series of tweets on his official Twitter page @PeterObi, the LP presidential candidate said it was important to call the attention of the Buhari regime to the menace to ensure there were no ‘sacred cows’, especially in the fight against insurgency in the country. 

“In the National Interest, there should be no sacred cows,” Mr Obi wrote further. 

While also showing his concern about the ongoing impasse between the government and striking university lecturers in the country, Mr Obi expressed hope that the ASUU strike would soon be called off with the intervention of the governors who have decided to mediate. 

“It’s gratifying that our governors have undertaken to mediate on the lingering ASUU strike,” he stated. “This is propitious and a remarkable show of leadership. Hopefully, such direct constructive engagement will bring this strike to an end soonest.”