Although we were not officially communicated, the attention of DESERT HERALD was drawn to a press release purportedly circulated by the Legal Adviser of the Civilian JTF, one Barr Gunda debunking DH report on the leader of the CJTF, Bah Lawan JAFAR and reportedly giving DESERT HERALD three days to retract the report and tendered unreserved apology. If the said release is true and before the full content of our response is publish in our newspaper, DH is maintaining the followin;
a) That indeed Bah LAWAN was once arrested and his release then was greeted with well documented jubilation on the streets of Maiduguri by members of the CJTF celebrating his return after his brief detention;
b) That he was indeed recently arrested like other officials before him such as the ex-Chairman and Vice Chairman of Mafa and Bama Local Governments, Shettima L. Maina and Abba Kawu allegedly in connection with B’HARAM links;
c) That he is highly influential, unduly favoured and has a large farmland along POMPOMARI bypass with almost 500 cows and that the cows are still there if they were not evacuated before this response;
d) That the claim of having ownership of houses in Maiduguri despite the fact that his income cannot afford them is true while some of the pictures will be publish in our subsequent publications;
e) That evidences of corrupt enrichment by Bah LAWAN and using the CJTF (which was established by Gov K. SHETTIMA out of sincere commitment to compliment the good wirk of our security agencies) as a conduit-pipe can be proven by DESERT HERALD;
f) That DH never doubted the sincere commitment of Gov Kashim SHETTIMA towards eliminating B’HARAM, restoring security to his people or bringing succor to the victims of B’HARAM, but we emphasized that among many others within BOSG and some close to it as reported by both local and International media have been making millions in the B’HARAM project and votes, and wil not want d insurgency to end;
f)That several cases if corrupt enrichment and corruption by officials of BOSG particularly in the management of the IDPs has since been established and was reported widely which was the reason Governor Shettima sacked many and reorganised the programme;
g) That there was nowhere in the said DESERT HERALD report where DH was categorical that LAWAN or any official of BOSG has links with B’HARAM and that N500m was found in Bah LAWAN’s account. But DH did reported that three ‘ECOMOG’ that are known widely as boys and thugs of Hon Kadiri RAHIS were also arrested and they are being accused as part of the masterminds of the Post Office bombing that killed many. DH believes that the culpability or otherwise of any person can only be determine after investigations by security agencies that are vested with such responsibility;
h) We also maintained that our reports are in public interest and we owe responsibility first to Nigeria and Nigerians, and was not targeted to achieve any motive as mischievously stated in the said press release.
