A former aide of Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, Junaid Idrissa Khadi was among the seven persons that were paraded by the Department of State Services, who were accomplice and associates to self acclaimed Australian Boko Haram Negotiator Stephen Davis.
Other six which were paraded by the DSS, includes, Abubakar Yusuf; Saleh Alhaji Ibrahim; Abdullah Saleh; Nurudeen Ibrahim; Mubarak Adamu and Mustapha Maidugu.
Narrating their arrest in a media briefing, the spokesperson of the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, spokesperson of the DSS, said the arrest of the suspects followed the investigations into the allegations of Davis against Ali Modu Sherrif, former Borno state governor; and Azubuike Ihejirika, who was the former chief of army staff; speaking he said; “Recall that on August 29, 2014, one Stephen Davis, an Australian self-styled negotiator for Boko Haram had alleged that Ali Modu Sherrif and Azubuike Ihejirika were among the chief sponsors of the Boko Haram sect.”
According to Ogar; “Based on the allegation, this service initiated an in-depth investigation into the matter. Consequently, seven associates of Davis were arrested and it has been established that they are part of well-orchestrated plan to spread falsehood, undermine and discredit efforts of the government to end terrorism.” According to Ogar, Khadi, a 45-year-old Kanuri man from Borno state confessed that he had known Davis since 2006. He confessed that he introduced one Aisha Wakil to Davis as a credible link to top members of the Boko Haram sect.”
“That he and one general Ashafa went with Davis on a journey to a remote part of Marte local government, Borno state, on a false mission to rescue the abducted Chibok school girls. That he deliberately conspired to blackmail and implicate Ali Modu Sherrif, former governor of Borno state and one Mala Othman, former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as sponsors of the Boko Haram sect. This he said he did by mounting pressure on the fake Boko Haram commanders, particularly Abubakar Yusuf to affirm that Sherrif was indeed a sponsor. A claim that would give weight to their own scam and compel the federal government to negotiate with the fraudulent group. However, when the attempt failed, he sold the idea directly to Davis.”
Speaking further she said; “That Davis single-handedly conjured the indictment on Ihejirika based on allegations that the military under the former chief of army staff was responsible for the several failed attempts by Davis to make contact with the presidency. He denied ever discussing with Davis that Ihejirika was a Boko Haram sponsor. He stressed that at no time during their interactions were such allegations made against Ihejirika and wondered why this should arise.”
“That he organised several meetings between the purported Boko Haram commanders and Davis in Abuja and was privy to a YouTube video, an interview on Voice of America (VOA) and he (Khadi) also used Davis’ camera to capture snapshots of Davis in a group photograph with some fake commanders of the sect. Regarding another suspect, Abubakar Yusuf , a 30-year-old man from Biu local government in Borno state, she disclosed that he was a former member of Boko Haram.Until his arrest, he was a petty trader at Makama new extension, Bauchi state. Yusuf was actively involved in the Boko Haram insurrection of 2009 as an armed foot soldier as well as a paramedic for the sect. He escaped from Maiduguri to Askira-Uba in Borno state and thereafter relocated to Bauchi metropolis, where he was eventually arrested,” Ogar said.
According to Ogar; “Yusuf was among those presented by Aisha Wakil to Borno state governor between 2011 and 2012 as representatives who would negotiate a peaceful end to the crisis. In February, 2013, Yusuf was introduced to Davis by Aisha Wakil as a top-ranking Boko Haram member, who could facilitate Davis’ contact with the sect’s leadership even though she knew he was incapable. Yusuf co-opted and presented Saleh Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi Saleh, Nurudeen Ibrahim and Mubarak Adamu to Davis as the sect’s Amirul Jeish (grand commanders). He also introduced one Yakubu Kaumi (late Abu Zamira) as a spokesperson for the sect. Yusuf and some of the suspects mentioned above were part of the YouTube video, VOA interview and also appeared in the group photograph with Davis.Yusuf confessed to have made about N4 million from fake Boko Haram negotiations.”
Furthermore, Ogar said that on the case of Saleh Ibrahim, a 35-year-old native of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council in Borno state, who joined Boko Haram in 2003, but later left the sect for a job at Borno Radio Television was until his arrest, a casual staff of Borno Radio Television (BRTV). He confessed to have joined the Boko Haram sect in 2003 and remained an ardent follower of late Mohammed Yusuf until 2005 when he quit the sect to join BRTV. While in the sect, he was a member of the task force committee on vehicle parking at Markaz, the sect’s enclave in Maiduguri,” she explained. Confessing the Saleh said that in 2013, he participated in a government-sponsored dialogue with the Boko Haram sect, and he was presented to the Hassan Tukur and Tanimu Turaki-led committees as a top member of the sect’s Shura council, a claim which was false. That he and a few other persons granted an interview to the VOA and spoke extensively on the bogus Boko Haram ceasefire with the federal government. That Khadi paid him N300, 000 for his role in the mischievous media campaign.”
Meanwhile it was also gathered that Abdullahi Saleh, a Fulani from Yola South local government area in Adamawa state, who claims to be between 28 and 30 years old and also a 100 level student of accounting at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi state, the DSS spokesperson said he confessed that in August 2013, Yusuf introduced him with the alias Abu Adam Maisandari to Davis, Wakil, Khadi, and the Tanimu Turaki-led Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the northeast. He participated in the group’s meetings with the Turaki-led committee and was among the purported sect commanders who were interviewed by the VOA. He confessed to have made N150, 000 from fake dealings with Davis and the Turaki and Tukur-led committees,” Ogar said.
Also Ogar said that; “Nurudeen Ibrahim, a 22-year-old man from Pali village, Alkaleri local government area in Bauchi state, was introduced to Yusuf by his friend, Mubarak Adamu. Upon his recruitment into the purported Boko Haram commanders’ group, he was introduced to Davis as well as the Turaki-led committee as a representative of Abu Zamira. He participated in various meetings with the Turaki-led committee, the VOA interview, featured in the YouTube video and was one of the hooded gang members in the group photograph with Davis; his financial gains from the fake project with Davis and Yusuf’s groups amounted to about N62, 000.”
Moreso Mubarak Adamu, a 20-year-old native of Darazo local government area in Bauchi state, who first came in contact with Yusuf in 2010 and was also introduced to Davis and the Turaki-led committee, according to Ogar; “the said Mubarak confessed that he participated in the YouTube video, and was one of the hooded persons in a group photograph with Davis, He said he made N55, 000 from his participation in the scam.”
“Also for Mustapha Maidugu, a 35-year-old Kanuri man from Yusufari local government in Yobe state, Ogar said he resided at Shehuri north in Maiduguri, Borno state, adding that he was a technical officer with the estate department of Yusufari local government area in Yobe state as well as the secretary of Shehuri North Community Development and Youth Empowerment Association (SNCDYEA). He also confessed that he was linked to Davis by Saleh Ibrahim through phone; he said Davis facilitated his getting an ad-hoc job with UNICEF, which bordered on providing psychological support to victims of the Boko Haram insurgency; also that Davis tasked him with secretly recording the ordeal of female victims who allegedly escaped Boko Haram captivity. His fabrications were published by Davis under the widely circulated news headline, ‘160 days after Chibok abduction: Girls tell how they were raped every day – Negotiator Steven Davis’; That he sent a copy of the Gaji Galtimari-led presidential fact-finding committee report to Davis to which he received a reply via text message from Davis that read, ‘It is getting hotter for Sheriff now’; according to Ogar he also confessed that in all, Maidugu received the sum of N272, 000 and a laptop for working for Davis.
