Former Chief of Army Staff and Ambassador to Benin Republic, Lt.-General Tukur Buratai (rtd), has described as strange a claim that he has secret connections with terrorists.
According to him, a claim that he was connected, “directly or indirectly”, to terrorism financing is entirely fabricated.
“It defies logic and conscience to suggest that the same person who led decisive actions against terrorism would in any way be associated with the very elements he spent his career confronting,” Buratai said this on Saturday in a statement on Saturday, signed on his behalf by former Army’s spokesperson, Brig.-General Sani Kukasheka Usman.
It followed an online publication linking some prominent individuals to terrorism financiers.
However, the statement described such allegations as “false, unfounded, mischievous, and amount to a smear campaign deliberately designed to tarnish his name and reputation.”
It said: “At no point in his distinguished career has he ever been questioned, investigated, indicted, or associated with any such matter by any official body or authority. No security institution, intelligence agency, judicial panel, diplomatic mission, oversight mechanism, or administrative body has ever linked him with terrorism financing in any form.
“The narrative being circulated by Sahara Reporters, relying solely on the unverified personal claims of Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi (rtd), is therefore a clear misrepresentation borne out of malice and lacks any factual or legal foundation.”
The statement stated that it was “regrettable, though unsurprising,” that the online publication had once again attempted to drag the precious name into disrepute, a pattern he said it has repeatedly pursued over the years, albeit unsuccessfully.
“Each attempt has failed because his record remains forthright, transparent, and distinguished by honourable service to the nation,” it said.
The statement said that for over four decades, General Buratai served the country with “honour, courage and steadfast commitment” to defeating terrorism, emphasizing under his leadership, the Nigerian Army significantly degraded Boko Haram and ISWAP, recovered previously occupied territories, restored civil administration, and returned displaced Nigerians to their homes.
The statement, therefore, called on Sahara Reporters and Major General Ali-Keffi (rtd) to immediately retract their publication and tender an unreserved public apology to General Buratai.
“Failure to do so will leave us with no option but to initiate appropriate legal proceedings to protect his reputation and seek redress for this malicious attack,” it said.
