By Abdul Hassan
A major counter-terrorism investigation has exposed alleged links between terror financiers and some of Nigeria’s most powerful figures, including former top government and military officials.
The revelations come from a retired Nigerian Army General, Ali-Keffi, who once led the probe.
In 2021, an investigation known as Operation Service Wide (OSW) was launched with the approval of then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
The multi-agency task force was reportedly tasked with identifying Boko Haram masterminds, tracing their financiers, and dismantling networks that supported terrorism .
The retired general revealed that the operation uncovered “a sprawling network of financiers allegedly tied to senior government officials, influential military officers, and top financial institutions.”
According to Ali-Keffi, the probe identified several suspects with links to high-profile officials.
Two suspects are allegedly connected to former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd).
Two suspects are tied to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
One suspect is connected to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Former Chief of Army Staff Gen. Faruk Yahaya (rtd) is linked to another suspect.
“I am not accusing Buratai, Malami, or Emefiele of terrorism financing. But I was informed by the former NFIU Director that investigations linked them to some of the suspects.
“I don’t know if they were later cleared but up to the time that I was arrested, detained, compulsorily retired and taken off the OSW, they were linked to some of the suspects,” Ali-Keffi said.
He added: “Let me state again that the former Director of NFIU told me that Gen. Buratai, Malami, Emefiele and Gen. Yahaya, respectively, were linked to some of the suspects based on business connections.
“Note that a lot of the suspects were engaged in legitimate business, which was Bureau De Change which however, we suspected were ‘cover’ for their other nefarious activity, which was, terrorism financing.
“Throughout the time that I headed the OSW, we did not establish that Gen. Buratai, Emefiele, Malami and Gen. Yahaya, were linked with terrorism financing or knew that the suspects that they were linked with were involved in terrorism financing.”
Ali-Keffi said he was suddenly summoned to the Headquarters of Military Police on October 18, 2021, detained for 64 days, “never charged, never queried, and never tried by any military or civil court before being compulsorily retired.”
