Boko Haram never nominated Buhari as mediator, says Garba Shehu

Former Presidential Spokesman Garba Shehu has dismissed claims by former President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram had nominated Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in dialogue with the Nigerian government, describing the statement as false and misleading.

In a detailed statement issued on Friday, Shehu said the late leaders of Boko Haram, Muhammed Yusuf and Abubakar Shekau, never appointed Buhari as a mediator. “Shekau routinely denounced and threatened Buhari, and their ideologies were in direct opposition,” he noted, recalling that Buhari himself survived a Boko Haram bomb attack in Kaduna in 2014, which left several of his aides injured.

Shehu further emphasized that Buhari’s presidential campaigns consistently focused on combating Boko Haram and restoring national security, placing him in direct opposition to the terrorist group.

Contrary to circulating reports, Buhari denied any knowledge of being nominated for mediation. In 2011, the then National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Engr. Buba Galadima, told reporters that Buhari described the alleged nomination as “just speculation” and said nobody had contacted him regarding such a role. “As an elder statesman and a patriotic Nigerian, he will continue to pray until peace and tranquillity return to Nigeria,” Galadima added.

The misinformation, Shehu explained, originated from a faction of Boko Haram that staged a press conference in Maiduguri through one Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, who claimed to be the commander for Southern and Northern Borno.

Abdulaziz allegedly stated that Buhari and other prominent figures from the Borno Emirate could mediate between the group and the federal government. The claim was swiftly condemned by Boko Haram leaders, who asserted that Abdulaziz had no mandate from their leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau.

Rotimi Fashekun, then CPC National Publicity Secretary, also criticized Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for leveraging the alleged nomination for political purposes. He described it as an attempt by the PDP-led government to divert public attention from alleged corruption and insecurity issues.

“General Muhammadu Buhari has never been directly or remotely connected with any insurgency against Nigeria,” Fashekun said. He accused the PDP of sponsoring one of the Boko Haram factions and blamed the party for the growing insecurity in the country.

Shehu concluded by urging the former president to seek a “better story” if he intends to contest the presidency in 2027.