Former Niger Delta Militant leader, Asari Dokubo, has boasted that former President Muhammadu Buhari hired him to protect the Abuja-Kaduna highway.
Under the Buhari-led government, the highway had gained notoriety for kidnapping and arm robbery by bandits, making it almost impassable for motorists and commuters who plied the route.
But in the twilight of the immediate past administration, the activities of the bandits along the highway reportedly subsided, which many attributed to the gallantry of our military officers and the additional deployment of policemen on the axis by former IGP Usman Akali.
However, in the latest video released online, Dokubo has boasted that it took him and his men to bring the stability being enjoyed on that axis, noting that though he was not a fan of Buhari, the former president saw the potential in him to tackle the Abuja-Kaduna highway menace.
“If the Buhari-led government can engage me to bring safety for the people on the Abuja-Kaduna road, it should be commended. Do you know how many lives were saved? Do you know how many people were brought out of depression and trauma? Have you ever spoken to people who have been kidnapped?” he said.
“We did not employ ourselves. The government saw the potential in us and knew that we could deliver, so they engaged us. The fact that the Buhari government engaged me shows that they know who I am.
“I was not a friend of Buhari. For Seven years, I was anti-Buhari. Buhari with all that saw the capacity in me that I am capable, and the government came.”
In what appeared to be a discredit to the military, the former Niger Delta warlord accused the military of blackmailing the Nigerian state with the worsening insecurity of the country.
“There is a full-scale war going on, and the blackmail of the Nigerian state by the Nigerian military is shameful. They said they do not have enough weapons, and people listen to this false narrative. They are lying. They are liars. I repeat, they are liars because I am a participant.
“I am a participant in this war. I fight on the side of the government of the Nigerian state in Plateau, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Rivers. And in Abuja today, you are traveling to Kaduna on this road. It is not the army that makes it possible for you to travel to Abuja or Kaduna, and vice versa. It is my men, employed by the government of the Nigerian state, stationed in Niger.
“Today, you travel to Baga, you go to Shiroro, and you go to Wase. We have lost so much potential in all these engagements that we don’t even have one percent of the armament deployed by the Nigerian military. One percent, and we have had resounding success. So, this blackmail must end. The Nigerian Army has enough resources to fight. Instead of fighting, they are busy stealing. They are busy making the government spend unnecessarily.”
The media handlers of former President Buhari are yet to react to this latest outburst by Asari Dokubo.
