Former Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has declared that with the recent revelations from the Department of State Service (DSS) has exonerated him from allegations that he is a sponsor of Boko Haram.
He maintains that he had nothing to do with the dreaded group engaged in terrorism in the North-East and other parts of the country.
Even though he refused to be drawn into an elaborate discussion on the issue, Sheriff all the same stated: “What else do you want me to say? The DSS statement was very clear, that people were planted to smear me and paint me in a bad light. But God has used the DSS to vindicate me. It was just a calculated attempt by my political opponents and powerful top government officials in my state to bring me down.”
An Australian negotiator, Steven Davis, who claimed to have been involved in negotiations on behalf of the Federal Government with commanders of Boko Haram for the release of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls had named Sheriff and a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Azubuike Ihejirika(rtd), as sponsors of Boko Haram.
But Ihejirika and Sheriff had both dismissed the allegations, saying they had nothing to benefit from the sponsorship of Boko Haram.
Davis had said in his interview that “First thing to do is to arrest the former Governor Sheriff. Former Governor Sheriff has been funding this for years. He is satisfied that he will be picked up and he has now switched to the ruling party, PDP, in the hope this will give him protection”.
But the DSS in a statement on Wednesday said its investigations into Davis’ allegation had shown that those he claimed to have interacted with were Boko Haram impostors.
“Consequently, seven associates of Davis were arrested and it has been established that they were part of a well-orchestrated plan to spread falsehood, undermine and discredit efforts of government to end terrorism,” DSS Deputy Director, Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, said in the statement.
Among suspects arrested was Junaid Idrissa Khadi, a former special adviser to Sheriff’s successor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima.
According to the statement, Khadi allegedly confessed that he and one General Ashafa went with Davis on a journey to a remote part of Marte LGA, Borno State, on a false mission to rescue the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
And that “he deliberately conspired to blackmail and implicate Ali Modu Sheriff (Sen), former governor of Borno State and one Mala Othman, former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as sponsors of the Boko Haram sect. This, he said, he did by mounting pressure on the fake Boko Haram commanders, particularly Abubakar Yusuf (a.k.a Baba Sani) to affirm that Sheriff was indeed a sponsor”.
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