Retired General Alleges Terrorism-Financing Suspects Had Links to Buratai, Malami, Emefiele
Retired Major-General Danjuma Ali-Keffi has alleged that suspects arrested during a 2021 terrorism-financing investigation were linked to several prominent Nigerians, including former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Ali-Keffi, who led the multi-agency Operation Service Wide (OSW), said the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) briefed him that two suspects in custody had connections to Buratai, two others to Malami, and one to Emefiele. He noted that he was not accusing the individuals of terrorism sponsorship, but reporting the associations identified during intelligence analysis.
He explained that the taskforce submitted its findings to then-President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2021.
According to him, the operation also traced an offshore account belonging to international businessman Aboubacar Hima, which held about $600 million and was later frozen by United States authorities.
He claimed intermediaries offered him $50 million to intervene, an offer he said he rejected.
Ali-Keffi alleged that pressure mounted to downgrade the charges against the suspects from terrorism financing to money laundering, a move he said would have diverted the cases away from terrorism-specific prosecution.
He added that officials who resisted the pressure were removed from the investigation, and that several suspects were eventually released without trial.
The retired general further stated that he was detained for 64 days in 2021 and later compulsorily retired, which he described as an attempt to halt the progress of the investigation. “Till today, I don’t know my offence,” he said.
His claims resurfaced as the federal government recently published a new list of individuals and organisations identified for investigation over alleged terrorism financing.
As at press time, none of the individuals mentioned in Ali-Keffi’s account had publicly responded to the allegations, and the relevant security agencies had not issued clarifications on the status of the cases.
