By Emmanuel Aziken, Political
Editor, AbdulSalam
Muhammad, Victoria Ojeme &
Ndahi Marama
LAGOS —The Boko Haram
sect has cited the stoppage of
its monthly financial support
for the recent attacks on
northern states, claiming that
the group was until recently
being bankrolled by some
northern governors.
The claim by the group came
as it also alleged that former
President Olusegun Obasanjo
was in its firing range last
September but was spared
because of his tolerance of
the sharia Islamic code during
his presidency.
An unnamed high ranking
official of the group alleged
that the Ibrahim Shekarau
administration in Kano made
a monthly N10 million
donation to the group while
the Bauchi Governor, Alhaji
Isa Yuguda besides financial
commitments was also an
admirer of the military
prowess of the group.
The group has, nevertheless,
dismissed any personal
grouse with President
Goodluck Jonathan, alleging
that the problems with the
administration were
carryovers from what it
claimed to be the callousness
of the Yar‘Adua
administration in waging war
against the group.
The allegations were made by
a high ranking official of the
group to the online
publication 247ureports.com.
Mr. Michael Ishola, Chief Press
Secretary to the Bauchi State
Governor, Alhaji Isa Yuguda,
however, debunked the claim
as a “very, very strange
allegation.”
The newly appointed Special
Adviser (Media) to the Kano
State Governor, Mallam Halilu
Dantiye on his part, claimed
ignorance of any monthly
payment to the group by the
Ibrahim Shekarau
administration which the
present administration
succeeded as he claimed that
there was no such issue
contained in the handover
note.
Noting that the attacks on
Kano and Bauchi arose from
the stoppage of the financial
support to the group by some
northern governors, the
official in the disclosures to
the publication said that the
entire northern governors
have ongoing relationships
with the group.
“Most of them pay us monthly
to leave their states alone”.
It was alleged that the
Shekarau administration
reached an agreement as far
back as 2004 to be paying a
monthly support of N5 million
to the group which was later
raised to N10 million
sometime in 2009.
The agreement also
reportedly included
infrastructural support. The
support was, however,
allegedly stopped at the
inception of the Kwankwaso
administration in May 2011.
The publication alleged that
the Kwankwaso regime also
turned against the group
dismantling its infrastructure
in the state.
“We warned the Governor of
the consequences. We
concluded on Kano in
December 2011,” the source
said. Shekarau’s spokesman,
Sule Yau did not respond to
the allegations yesterday as
he did not respond to a text
message sent to him. Mallam
Dantiye Special Adviser to
Governor Kwankwaso claimed
ignorance of the alleged
support saying that nothing
like that was contained in the
handover note received from
Shekarau.
On Bauchi, the publication
reported that Governor
Yuguda reached a
similar agreement with the
leadership of the group for
the payment of N10million
monthly to the group
alongside the provision of
training grounds on the many
mountains scattered in Bauchi
State. The governor it was
reported also promised to
give 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.
Mr. Michael Ishola, Chief Press
Secretary to Governor Yuguda
also refuted the allegation
against Governor Yuguda. “It
is a very, very strange
allegation, because the Isa
Yuguda I know cannot be
involved in such an allegation.
We in Bauchi have been living
in peace. We are not involved
in that,” he told Vanguard
yesterday.
Why we didn’t kill
Obasanjo — Boko Haram
While noting the group’s
reservations on the mediation
initiated by President
Obasanjo with the group
through Babakura Fuggu, in-
law of Mohammed Yusuf, the
slain founder of the group, the
publication disclosed that the
new leader of the group,
Imam Abubakar Shekau, had
considered priming Obasanjo
for assassination as the
September 15, 2011
exchange approached.
According to the publication:
As Obasanjo concluded
his secret meeting the
previous day at the Green
House with three
other religious group [Jamatu
Nasirl Islam, JNI and CAN] in
Jos, the capital of Plateau
State on the Wednesday of
September 14, 2011, and took
off the following day to Borno
State, the terrorist group,
according to the
source, marked the former
President within their ‘firing
range’ from the moment he
landed in Borno State at
minutes after 11am till he
departed the State in the late
afternoon of the same day.
According to the source, “we
were not sure of him”.
“He was going to be a big
catch” said the source who
explained that the leadership
halted the operation as
Obasanjo went inside the
residence of Babakura.
“Obasanjo was good to us.
We had no problem with
Obasanjo. We had him. We
could have taken him out”, as
he recalled that the sharia
movement took off during the
period when Obasanjo was
president. “The problem
started during the late
President Yar’Adua regime.
Goodluck only inherited the
problem. We have no problem
with Goodluck. But his Ijaw
people around him
are deceiving him”.
See detailed report on
Page 41.
JTF kills 4 Boko Haram
members in Maiduguri
In a seeming fight back, the
Joint Task Force (JTF),
“Operation Restore Order” in
Maiduguri, Borno State
claimed success in gunning
down four operatives of the
Boko Haram sect in the town.
The four were reportedly
killed yesterday in Pompomari
ward of Maiduguri , the Borno
State capital.
According to a Press
statement signed by the Field
Operations Commander of the
JTF, Col. Victor Ebhaleme the
quartet was apprehended
along with bomb materials.
He said: “Four members of
the sect involved in the
killings in Maiduguri
metropolis and its environs
and have been under the
surveillance of security
agencies were shot dead”.
The statement further
claimed that, various
Improvised Explosive Devices
(IEDs) materials prepared for
detonation were equally
recovered from their Golf
Saloon car.
The statement further warned
those still harbouring the sect
members to desist from such
acts, urging them to report all
suspects to security agencies
for prompt action
Nigeria, US join forces
against Boko Haram
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s effort to
combat the activities of the
Boko Haram sect received a
boost yesterday as it resolved
to collaborate with the United
States in the fight against the
group.
The meeting between the two
countries held under the aegis
of the US-Nigeria Bi-national
Commission had US Deputy
Assistant Secretary, Mr.
William Fitzgerald leading the
American side, while the
Nigerian side was led by the
Foreign Affairs Permanent
Secretary, Ambassador
Martins Uhomoibhi in
company of the National
Security Adviser (NSA), Gen.
Andrew Azazi (Rtd.)
Both the Nigerian and US
officials met in Abuja to
formalize a response to the
general insecurity in the
northern part of Nigeria.
Before retreating to a closed
door meeting, Fitzgerald
disclosed that, due to the
intensity of the insurgent
activities in the North, the
security working group was
split into two, with one group
focusing exclusively on
tackling the Boko Haram
menace, while the other
would focus on security of the
Niger Delta region.
He said: “Today marks a new
beginning, security issues in
the North have taken up new
significance, so we have
chosen to split the regional
security cooperation and the
Niger Delta. The regional
security cooperation has its
own working group which will
meet today (yesterday) and
tomorrow (today).”
“I bring on behalf of the US
government, the deepest
condolences on the heinous
attacks that have taken place
during the past few days first
in Kano and then Bauchi
State. We deplore swiftly the
reign of terror that has
existed in the north of the
country for many months. And
we stand with you to work
together to find a way to
bring peace to the north,”  the
US envoy added.
Ambassador Adefuye was
quoted as saying that “the
United States government has
proposed that the Niger-Delta
and regional security
component of the commission
be split into separate entities
and the first meeting on
regional security should hold
immediately on 23 and 24 of
January. We have agreed to
this proposal.
“We are receiving adequate
support and assistance from
our international friends
without compromising our
independence and freedom of
action.”

www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/we-re-on-northern-govspayroll-boko-haram/