A former Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has dismissed claims by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan that his principal was once nominated by Boko Haram to mediate peace talks with the Federal Government.
Shehu refuted the claim in a statement titled ‘Boko Haram did not nominate Buhari as their mediator’ on Friday.
Shehu’s rebuttal came hours after Jonathan’s remarks at the public presentation of Scars, a book by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), where the former president said Boko Haram insurgents once named Buhari as their preferred negotiator.
Jonathan stated, “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.
So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and have a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”
In response, Shehu insisted Jonathan was “making a false start” ahead of a possible 2027 presidential bid.
He stated, “Muhammed Yusuf or Abubakar Shekau, the deceased leaders of the Boko Haram terrorist group, never nominated Muhammadu Buhari for any such role.
In fact, Shekau routinely denounced and threatened Buhari, and their ideologies were in direct opposition,” he said, recalling that Buhari narrowly survived a 2014 Boko Haram bomb attack in Kaduna which left his aides injured.
Shehu explained that the controversy stemmed from a 2012 press conference in Maiduguri by a faction led by Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, who listed Buhari and several northern leaders as possible mediators.
“Abdulaziz was roundly condemned by the leaders of Boko Haram, who claimed that he had ‘no mandate of their leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau,’” he clarified.
At the time, Buhari himself denied knowledge of the claim. Shehu quoted then-CPC National Secretary, Buba Galadima, as saying, “As at 10pm yesterday when I spoke with him, he said he has not even heard about it… since nobody has contacted him as a person, he would not speak to the press.”
The matter was already a political flashpoint in the run-up to the 2015 elections.
Rotimi Fashekun, the late CPC publicity secretary, had accused Jonathan’s PDP government of exploiting the rumour.
“Without any scintilla of equivocation, General Muhammadu Buhari has never been directly or remotely connected with any insurrection or insurgency against the Nigerian nation and her people,” he said, describing Buhari as “the quintessential patriot that continues to magnetise the very best across the ethno-religious boundaries within the Nigerian nation-space.”
Fashekun also alleged that the PDP bore responsibility for insecurity, claiming there were three variants of Boko Haram, the original sect, a criminal faction, and “the most lethal of all, the Political Boko Haram, which this PDP-led Federal Government represents.”
Shehu added, “To be president in 2027, Goodluck Jonathan should look for another story to tell Nigerians… To win in 2027, Dr. Jonathan should look for a better story to tell Nigerians.”
