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| Sheriff is top on list of Boko Haram - Stephen Davis dramatically recants, avoids discussing allegded Ihejirika's association with Boko Haram |
"It is much easier to understand Mr Sheriff’s alleged association with Boko Haram than any association of Mr Ihejirika. Mr Sheriff was said to have a long history of promoting groups to assist in his past efforts to win the governorship of Borno State. On 29 July 2009, there was a confrontation with security officers at Mamudo Village, along Potiskum/Damaturu Road, Yobe. 33 JAS members were killed. Later that night, there was a long battle with combined security operatives at Railway Terminus, Maiduguri, Borno State. Scores were killed and the JAS operational base was destroyed. Yusuf was subsequently captured by the military and handed over to the police. The JAS alleged that it was on Sheriff’s orders that Yusuf was executed in Maiduguri on 30 July 2009. Shekau was presumed killed in the same battle and a corpse was identified as that of Shekau. Thus the remaining JAS leaders made it clear their intention was to kill Sheriff and so it is right that Sheriff claims he is a victim of JAS. "
He also confirmed that he was never hired by the Nigeria government to negotiate on her behalf with the Boko Haram. "I was not engaged by the Federal Government of Nigeria, any state government or any other party. I went to Nigeria in late April in an effort to facilitate a handover of the Chibok captives after discussing such a possibility with former commanders of JAS (Jama’atu Ahlul Sunnah Lih Da’awa wal Jihad otherwise known as JAS) and others close to Boko Haram."
He went on to elaborate on what is widely known of the mutation of Boko Haram to an Islamic Jihadi group with similar idealogy and intent like the the Islamic State (ISIS) and teh Somali-based al Shabaab.
"The Boko Haram we see today is not the JAS that was operational under Yusuf. Shekau emerged in mid-2010 and publicly claimed the leadership of a reinvigorated JAS.
Shekau formed Ansaru which he used for kidnapping and beheading victims. This behaviour was a major departure from the original mandate of the JAS which was to purify Islam and return it to the behaviour example in the life of the Prophet. Many among the JAS leadership are no longer active and others have been killed. This has allowed Shekau to take the JAS to more extreme action and expanded the kidnapping, bombing and slaughtering. The Boko Haram we have today is a much expanded Ansaru. What we see now is not the Yusufiya which wanted very much to settle scores with Sheriff. It is Boko Haram as a partner to ISIS and Al Shabaab."
He however opinionated that real sponsors of Boko Haram are opposition politicains who believe theyu would gain with the destabilisation of Nigeria.
"Now I will offer an opinion as to the motives of the sponsors of Boko Haram.The political sponsors of Boko Haram seem to think that they can use Boko Haram to terrorise Nigeria to demonstrate that the current government cannot ensure the security of Nigerian citizens both Muslim and Christian. Therein the sponsors assume they can undermine any efforts of the current government to be re-elected in 2015. Herein lies the flaw for the conflict and instability currently being fanned suits the aims of Al Qa’eda and the architects of terrorism. Should the sponsors of Boko Haram win government in 2015, they will likely find that they cannot turn Boko Haram off or that Boko Haram will demand control of at least Borno State in return for reducing their attacks. Borno State may be just the beginning of an expanding caliphate.
Several Boko Haram commanders and other persons close to and respected by Boko Haram have told me the names of some of the sponsors of Boko Haram. They have also described how some funds are transferred and arms made available. I have made public some of that information. I have also been told by some commanders that if one of the sponsors is arrested, they will surrender, release the girls and give information on the sponsors. Not all Boko Haram commanders will follow this lead but it may be a firm step towards dismantling or at least isolating Boko Haram."
In the same vein, a Nigerian security expert currently negotiating with Boko Haram, has rejected Davis' claim that he spoke with Boko Haram commnaders. The Negotiator who wished to remain anonymous told Vanguard that Davis didn’t speak with real Boko Haram leaders . The source, who has been assisting the Nigerian government to find a lasting solution to the insurgency in the North-east, stated that while in Nigeria, Davis never met the real commanders of Boko Haram but depended on information from a member of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Amnesty for information on the activities of the sect.
The source blamed what is now playing out on the issue of Boko Haram sponsorship on the information given to Davis by the member of the presidential committee.
He said,”We can say with all amount of seriousness that Davis did not meet the leadership and main commanders of Boko Haram during his visit to the North-east.
“If Davis insists that he met with any senior commander or leader of the sect, we challenge him to mention their names and ranks”.
The Nigerian negotiator also stated that Sheriff and Ihejirika could not have been Boko Haram sponsors as the two men were actually sworn enemies of the Islamist group.
He pointed out that Sheriff was even one of the three most wanted enemies of the sect.
“The statement credited to advise that Sherriff and Ihejirika are sponsors of Boko Haram is far from the truth because, as at today, the former Borno governor remains one of the three worst enemies of Boko Haram”, he stated.
“I can tell you that the group has not forgiven Sheriff over the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who was arrested and killed during his tenure as governor”.
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He however opinionated that real sponsors of Boko Haram are opposition politicains who believe theyu would gain with the destabilisation of Nigeria.
"Now I will offer an opinion as to the motives of the sponsors of Boko Haram.The political sponsors of Boko Haram seem to think that they can use Boko Haram to terrorise Nigeria to demonstrate that the current government cannot ensure the security of Nigerian citizens both Muslim and Christian. Therein the sponsors assume they can undermine any efforts of the current government to be re-elected in 2015. Herein lies the flaw for the conflict and instability currently being fanned suits the aims of Al Qa’eda and the architects of terrorism. Should the sponsors of Boko Haram win government in 2015, they will likely find that they cannot turn Boko Haram off or that Boko Haram will demand control of at least Borno State in return for reducing their attacks. Borno State may be just the beginning of an expanding caliphate.
Several Boko Haram commanders and other persons close to and respected by Boko Haram have told me the names of some of the sponsors of Boko Haram. They have also described how some funds are transferred and arms made available. I have made public some of that information. I have also been told by some commanders that if one of the sponsors is arrested, they will surrender, release the girls and give information on the sponsors. Not all Boko Haram commanders will follow this lead but it may be a firm step towards dismantling or at least isolating Boko Haram."
In the same vein, a Nigerian security expert currently negotiating with Boko Haram, has rejected Davis' claim that he spoke with Boko Haram commnaders. The Negotiator who wished to remain anonymous told Vanguard that Davis didn’t speak with real Boko Haram leaders . The source, who has been assisting the Nigerian government to find a lasting solution to the insurgency in the North-east, stated that while in Nigeria, Davis never met the real commanders of Boko Haram but depended on information from a member of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Amnesty for information on the activities of the sect.
The source blamed what is now playing out on the issue of Boko Haram sponsorship on the information given to Davis by the member of the presidential committee.
He said,”We can say with all amount of seriousness that Davis did not meet the leadership and main commanders of Boko Haram during his visit to the North-east.
“If Davis insists that he met with any senior commander or leader of the sect, we challenge him to mention their names and ranks”.
The Nigerian negotiator also stated that Sheriff and Ihejirika could not have been Boko Haram sponsors as the two men were actually sworn enemies of the Islamist group.
He pointed out that Sheriff was even one of the three most wanted enemies of the sect.
“The statement credited to advise that Sherriff and Ihejirika are sponsors of Boko Haram is far from the truth because, as at today, the former Borno governor remains one of the three worst enemies of Boko Haram”, he stated.
“I can tell you that the group has not forgiven Sheriff over the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who was arrested and killed during his tenure as governor”.
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