A former General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Maj. Gen Ali-Keffi (rtd) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to investigate the circumstances surrounding his arrest, detention, maltreatment and compulsory retirement from the Nigerian Army.
In a letter to the President, Ali-Keffi said his ordeal started following findings of a Presidential Board of Inquiry (BOI), set up by the Buhari administration in 2020 to investigate terrorism funding.
Ali- Keffi said, he head the BOI which findings exposed the involvement of senior government officials, a top banker and top military brass involved in terrorism financing.
“I was the President of the BOI with members/secretary drawn from the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Department of State Services (DSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) as well as from the Board of Inquiry, which largely conducted its work as an investigative body tasked to investigate circumstances surrounding the illegal smuggling of petroleum products contained in 168 oil tankers into Benin Republic through a single smuggling route in Ilesa Barbara in Kwara State”, Ali-Keffi said.
He said the BOI went further to uncover 295 oil tankers that conveyed Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and the major smugglers identified.
The letter stated that the BoI made a significant discovery regarding the relationship between the smuggling racket, the terrorism besetting the North-east, the banditry/kidnapping for ransom which was at its formative stage in the North-west and parts of North-Central geo-political zones.
According to him, this included the illegal mining of minerals in the North-west and North-Central and large scale laundering of mostly funds meant for counterterrorism/ insurgency operations that was ongoing mostly in the Northern parts of the country.
The letter reads in part: “A syndicate which had extensive network in the country as well as being affiliated to international criminal network was as the centre of moving finances for terrorism for other criminal activities stated above.
“The most worrisome aspect was that some of the individuals involved in terrorism financing of Boko Haram terrorists and who were also involved in procurement and movement of arms and ammunition for BH and other criminal organisations had links with the military.
“It was thus apparent that terrorism and insurgency in the North-east, North-west and North-central were a criminal enterprise and were largely undertaken with profit rather than any ideology, as the primary motive.
“Thus, we, at the BOI arrived at the obvious conclusion that progress cannot be achieved except the financiers, collaborators, supporters and the leadership of the terrorists and insurgents groups are identified and the network dismantled”.
Ali- Keffi said, recommendations on the findings by the panel were made and submitted to the presidency.
He said, the operation successfully infiltrated the leadership of terror groups in the North-east, which culminated in their decimation.
He added that, key terrorism financiers, were linked to the individuals convicted for terror financing in the United Arab Emirate (UAE).
He said trouble started when the task force became “victims of unfair attacks” including starvation of funding for its operations.
“This substantiates the argument that some powerful persons in and outside government as well as from the military were uncomfortable with the task force and specifically my humble self as commander,” he said.
According to Ali- Keffi, the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, under whose tenure he served as GOC, dealt a blow to the task force as the new army chief, Lt. Gen Faruk Yahaya, removed him as GOC, 1 Mechanised Division, Kaduna.
He noted that subsequently, the presidency and the Attorney General the Federation (AGF) became “less helpful”.
According to him, the entire episode culminated in his arrest and detention for 64 days in solitary confinement, where he slept on the floor with consequent health implications.
He lamented that the most painful part of his experience was that President Muhammadu Buhari, who approved his headship of the taskforce did not come to his rescue.
Ali-Keffi appealed to President Tinubu to intervene in the matter.
He urged the president to “kindly cause an investigation into the circumstances surrounding my arrest, detention, maltreatment and compulsory retirement from the Nigerian Army.”
Ali-Keffi also sought a review of his compulsory retirement from the army, saying it should be commuted to voluntary retirement.
He also sought for approve compensation for the expenditure incured by the taskforce in hiring of vehicles and quarters.
Ali-Keffi further asked for compensation for the pains and injuries he suffered while detention as well as approval of personal security.
