Nigeria: Claims Boko Haram On Political Payroll

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The governors of some northern Nigerian States allegedly financed the Boko Haram for years, before being targeted for suspending the support. The claim, made by an apparent spokesman of the group, is reported today on the front page of Nigeria’s The Vanguard newspaper.

In the article, entitled “We’re on Northern govs’payroll – Boko Haram”, refers to an online publication by “an unnamed high ranking official of the Boko Haram, alleging that the Ibrahim Shekarau administration in Kano made monthly “donations” to the group, while the Bauchi Governor, Alhaji Isa Yuguda besides financial commitments was also “an admirer of the military prowess of the group”. In the disclosures to the publication, the “high ranking official” however claimed that all of the northern governors have entertained “relationships” with the group.

Based on the version reported by The Vanguard, the Kano administration made monthly payments of N10 million (around 48,000 Euro) in logistic support between 2004 and 2011, only suspended after last April’s elections.

In regard to Bauchi, the publication claims that Governor Yuguda reached a similar agreement with the Boko Haram leadership for the payment from June 2008 to mid 2011 of N10 million monthly to the group, also allegedly providing “training grounds on the many mountains scattered in Bauchi State” and guaranteeing them security against arrests by the federal government. The agreement was supposedly reached in June 2008 but mid 2011, the governor reportedly stopped the disbursement of the funds.

Some of the attacks of the past months, including Friday’s in Kano and Sunday’s in Bauchi, was apparent retaliation of the Boko Haram for the suspension of the financial support.

According to The Vanguard, the allegations in the publication were denied by all the administrations. The paper however stresses that the accusations inevitably enhance suspicions of possible ties between the Boko Haram and political scene that 10 years ago fought for the introduction of the Sharia Islamic law in the Mulsim-majority north.

MISNA

MISNA, or the Missionary International Service News Agency, provides daily news ‘from, about and for’ the 'world’s Souths', not just in the geographical sense, since December 1997.

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