Vice President Kashim Shettima has finally shattered the online conspiracy linking him to bandits and Boko Haram, explaining the truth behind a viral photo that generated controversies on social media.
Speaking at the 2025 International Press Institute Nigeria Conference in Abuja, Shettima said the image was taken during a visit with displaced Fulani herders who lost everything when Boko Haram drove them from grazing lands in Sambisa forest, seizing their livestock and plunging formerly wealthy families into poverty.
“These people were my guards in the schools the government was building across Borno State because underneath the mayhem of Boko Haram… lies the real cause, which is extreme poverty. And education provides us the greatest tool of really addressing the root causes of insurgency and banditry,” Shettima said.
He revealed that he personally launched a large-scale education initiative for the displaced Fulani children, enrolling them in specially built schools with air-conditioned classrooms, digital learning tools, consistent meals, and buses to ferry them from home to school.
“Regularly, whenever I go on visits, I used to sit down with the parents, eat, chat, just to win their confidence. One of those pictures recently went viral, ‘Shetima dining with Bandits and Boko Haram’ in Maiduguri,” he added.
Shettima said the misleading narrative was part of a broader misinformation campaign by social media “anarchists,” stressing that serious media outlets did not promote the false story.
“But I have developed a thick skin to such accusations… The greatest threat to our democracy and our national survival is not the mainstream media. The anarchists in social media are the greatest threat. I know they will come after me. That’s the price of leadership,” he said.
He called on journalists to uphold their sacred duty of safeguarding democracy, while highlighting the challenges public figures face when social media mischief mongers distort facts for political gain.
