Govt knows terrorism financiers — Buratai
Former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai (retd.), on Friday said he has no responsibility for the non-release of the names of individuals financing terrorism in Nigeria, asserting that the government is aware of their identities.
The former Army Chief also distanced the Nigerian Army from the rehabilitation plan for repentant terrorists.
“You cannot say I should be responsible for naming the financiers of terror,” Buratai said during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“It’s not just about mentioning names; those agencies know why the names are not released. Action should be taken; these individuals are still within society today, and they are known. I take responsibility for certain things that are strictly the Nigerian Army’s responsibility.”
He decried the rising security challenges in the country, urging improvements in intelligence gathering and calling on government to recruit more security personnel to enhance national security.
Buratai also clarified that the decision to rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram members was taken by the government and not the Nigerian Army.
“The initial concept that we had was that we gave them a timeline to surrender in 2016, and if they surrendered, we gave them a free passage and handed them over to appropriate agencies to rehabilitate them,” he said.
Nigeria has been battling insurgency in the North-East for over a decade, with Boko Haram and its splinter factions responsible for thousands of deaths and widespread displacement.
The country is also facing attacks by bandits who have displaced millions from their homes in the North West and North Central regions.
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