Where is Helinues? Thought he/she would take up my challenge and face me here. Quite sad that he/she has cowardly avoided this thread. Helinues I know you're reading this.... Is Buhari not complacent over Nigeria's terrorism? If you believe that no one is above the law, shouldn't Buhari be detained and face trial for aiding terrorists that have killed thousands of Nigerians over this illegal dangerous program called "Sulhu"....? All those condemning Nnamdi Kanu to death should bury their heads in shame....
You keep making weak biased arguments while evading my question regarding Buhari, I challenge you to reply my latest post using the link below and tell the whole world why Buhari should not be detained over his role in the secret "Sulhu" program. https://www.nairaland.com/8422096/flashback-how-buhari-secretly-jeopardized
helinues: You are asking about the offense of Nnamdi Kanu. I deliberately posed that question to you.
If he hasn't brought any development projects to South East, then he must have brought calamity to the region.
Since the emergence of Kanu, how many lives have been lost?
Below is a report published on August 20, 2021 by Sahara Reporters exposing how Buhari secretly used state funds to placate Boko Haram terrorists, ISWAP terrorists and other jihadists instead of arresting and jailing them....
The Muhammadu Buhari-led government has been funding another secret programme aimed at rehabilitating and integrating the “repentant” Boko Haram terrorists into the society.
The program titled “Sulhu” was exposed in a report by The New Humanitarian.
The top-secret programme, known as Sulhu, meaning peacemaking in Arabic, is encouraging senior jihadist commanders to defect while the government provides them with benefits, a report by The New Humanitarian said.
The Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari, spends taxpayers' money to lure 'repentant' members of deadly terrorist group, Boko Haram in a special programme called 'Sulhu'.
The top-secret programme, known as Sulhu, meaning peacemaking in Arabic, is encouraging senior jihadist commanders to defect while the government provides them with benefits, a report by The New Humanitarian said.
With Sulhu, despite the atrocities committed by the terrorists, they are unlikely to be prosecuted, the report said. The Department of State Services (DSS) hopes to convert other jihadists under Sulhu.
The Bama massacre in 2014 led to the death of hundreds of civilians and over 26,000 people were displaced by fighting, but one of the commanders involved is now living free on the government’s payroll, according to the report.
One of the former Jihadists identified as Malam Aliyu (not real name) has a new life now. He once served as a militant fighting with Boko Haram and then with the breakaway Islamic State of West Africa Province.
He remarried a former Boko Haram woman from the northeastern city of Maiduguri. The couple have been set up with the rent-free house in Kaduna, a business license, and a small monthly stipend provided by the DSS.
Sulhu has, however, generated controversies though it enjoys some support from some quarters who have described it as a smart warfare – a means to remove senior jihadists from the battlefield more effectively than the stuttering orthodox military campaign.
“We have a proof of concept; it’s working. It’s depleting the enemy’s fighting force," an Abuja-based analyst told the New Humanitarian.
But the men on the Sulhu programme are almost certain to have been involved in atrocities. They have not been granted a formal amnesty, but neither have they been held to account for any crimes committed in a brutal conflict that is now in its twelfth year. It’s a war that has killed 35,000 people – 350,000 if you include the victims of the accelerating humanitarian crisis – and upended the lives of millions more, according to the UN.
Sulhu grew out of the behind-the-scenes attempts to free the more than 270 Chibok schoolgirls seized by Boko Haram in 2014.
Under Sulhu, defectors are enrolled in a six-month “deradicalisation” course in the military’s demobilisation and reintegration centre in Mallam Sidi, in northeastern Gombe State. After promising to renounce violence and be good citizens, they are issued a graduation certificate, signed by a high court judge – and some have then gone on to set up businesses, from cap-making to chicken-rearing.
Sulhu is run by the DSS and the military but is separate from the army’s much larger disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration initiative, known as Operation Safe Corridor (OSC) and also based in Mallam Sidi.
OSC is aimed at low-risk former combatants, although as many as 75 percent of those on the programme may never have held a weapon – just villagers snagged in the military’s catch-all dragnets, with years spent in detention without trial.
Those on the sulhu initiative are the turbaned rijal seen in the low-resolution YouTube videos, exultant in victory, killing without remorse. Before joining ISWAP, prior to the 2016 split from Boko Haram, these men had been obedient to a maximalist “takfir” creed, promoted by then-leader Shekau, who declared that anybody living outside their zone of control was an infidel, punishable by death or enslavement.
ISWAP is militarily on the front foot, but there can be exhaustion with the years of conflict for any number of reasons, explained a Nigeria-based researcher, who asked not to be named so they could speak freely. “Some [defectors] have lost faith in their leaders, accusing them of corruption; some have even forgotten why they were fighting; others just want their children to go to school.”
And there’s no appetite from the government to even begin to publicly discuss Sulhu. Yet almost 60 percent of people surveyed across the northeast in 2018 said they could agree to reconciliation with repentant jihadists if that was a path to peace: though acceptance was far lower in areas hardest hit by the conflict, and among women – the victims of so much sexual violence.
For DSS, Sulhu makes strategic sense. Aliyu, for example, is a so-called “pioneer”, an early member of Boko Haram who has a deep and intimate knowledge of the movement and the men he fought with.
Aliyu claimed since he crossed over two years ago, he had found other rijal wavering in their commitment to the jihadist cause and persuaded more than 20 of them to slip into frontline northern towns like Geidam, make pre-arranged contact with the military, and then start their journey into the sulhu programme.
The conversations aren’t one-way, either. Aliyu’s former comrades bait him, reminding him of the life he led in the dawla – the territory ISWAP administers under shariah law and regards as independent from Nigeria. In this zone, in the far north of Borno and Yobe states, beyond the reach of the military and aid agencies, rijal have almost total power over at least one million villagers they refer to as awam – or “commoners”.
“They say when you were in the lake [a region controlled by ISWAP], you were somebody important, now you have nothing,” Aliyu explained.
However, it is unclear why Aliyu abandoned the Jihad. There are speculations that Aliyu and some of his men had rustled cattle in the Lake Chad region and he was about to be punished. ISWAP considers stealing from Muslims a crime.
Aliyu denied he was at fault. Instead, he described a falling out with ISWAP’s then-commander of the army, Mustapha Kirimima, whose aggressive hardline stance persuaded others to also leave. Kirimima is reportedly in detention after a leadership shuffle earlier this year that made Abu Musab al-Barnawi – the eldest surviving son of the founder of Boko Haram – the interim leader.
Aliyu is trying to rebuild his life. He’s in school, learning to read and write English, and keen on it. He attends a regular mosque and is close to his new wife.
His mother is clearly a force in his life. She explained that after her divorce from Aliyu’s father when he was six, Aliyu grew up on the streets of Maiduguri as an almajiri – a child assigned to a religious teacher. He came under the sway of Boko Haram when it was still just a radical sect in the city.
”No matter what your son has done, he is still your son,” she said, Aliyu seated by her side. “If all mothers could welcome their sons, those in the forests, tell them no harm will come to them, they will come home,” she added, though her elder daughter is still in Boko Haram captivity in the bush.
In 2014, with the army poorly trained, under-equipped, and demoralised, Bama town fell to Boko Haram.
In the early days of Boko Haram’s insurrection, the vigilante group known as the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) had managed to chase its followers out of Bama. The CJTF then went on to nearby Banki and did the same thing, rooting out insurgent cells and killing members.
Idris Osman (not real name), a former cameraman with Boko Haram’s media unit said many of those who joined in bringing down Bama town had come from the town.
“When we entered, we came with that grief. We didn’t differentiate who was CJTF; we took everyone to be our enemies. This wasn’t about religion; this was revenge.”
Some of what happened were filmed by Osman. A video captured by him shows men lying on the floor in the dormitory of the prison barracks. They are shot, with the gunmen stamping on their bodies to make sure they are dead.
Aliyu, on the other hand, said he took no part in the killings. Instead, he said, he was nursing a hand wound from a battle a few days earlier at a key road junction 18 kilometres from the town – from where Boko Haram captured the armoured vehicles they used in their final assault. When the order came to kill the captives, he was sick and resting, he said.
”I’m a good man,” he insisted. “The elderly, the young, and the vulnerable – I help them during Eid [after the holy month of Ramadan].” Rather than civilians, “I deal with the military and CJTF – those I kill,” he said.
Sixty-six-year-old victim and former wealthy businessman, Mala Musa recounts his experience of the incident. Musa said he remembers Aliyu driving through the streets, flanked by bodyguards on motorbikes.
He didn’t personally witness Aliyu shooting anybody, but his heartfelt assessment was: “All Boko Haram kill. They’re wicked. Anybody saying otherwise is lying.” And it’s not just the killing he grieves over. As the Nigerian army was about to retake the town in 2015, Boko Haram trucked all the women they had forcibly married – or intended to in the future – to Sambisa".
Meanwhile, advocates of Sulhu argue that atrocities like Bama should not obscure the bigger picture, “If the justice system was functioning, that would be different. But the country has brought to trial very few people,” one of the supporters said. “They will just rot in jail. On the other hand, [if a senior commander joins Sulhu] and it leads to a momentum of guys coming out… [isn’t that better?].”
Supporters of Sulhu also stress it is not an amnesty programme. The slate, they say, has not been wiped clean for crimes committed. President Buhari has awarded them clemency, not forgiveness, and that can be withdrawn at any time.
However, civil society groups are highly critical of a process that favours perpetrators at the expense of their millions of victims.
An Abuja-based lawyer said, “From a human rights point of view, they should have been brought to justice. This is helping impunity to grow.”
Those on the Sulhu programme “melted into the crowd – there was no attempt at [implementing the] truth-telling, reparations, or accountability mechanisms that’s mentioned in the sulhu agreement,” added the lawyer.
The former government-Boko Haram intermediary, meanwhile, was also concerned that Sulhu – a well-funded but opaque programme – is being promoted as a winning strategy within the security establishment, when he believes it will have little real impact on the war.
“Eight out of 10 of those who defected did so because they [had committed a crime] in the bush, not because they want to stop killing, or have changed their ideology,” the intermediary told The New Humanitarian.
Advocates of sulhu see it as more than just a counter-insurgency tool. According to Mustapha Zannah, a former barrister who helped broker the release of both groups of Chibok girls, the larger goal has been to find a sliver of common ground that could be built upon to reach a political settlement – a potential way out of the conflict’s cul de sac.
ISWAP’s period of instability may now be easing. Al-Barnawi was made interim leader in March, with the backing of IS, and two months later scored a sensational victory against his arch-rival, Shekau.
There is excitement by some in the Nigerian security establishment who view al-Barnawi as “moderate" and potentially open to exploring the contours of a peace deal, as Nur had done. “He may be dogmatic, but he’s rational,” said an Abuja-based analyst.
But Zannah, the barrister, who also runs a school for war orphans and struggling families in Maiduguri, is certain any settlement acceptable to ISWAP would be a tough sell to most Nigerians.
“They are in a religious war. There’s no way you can tell them, ‘Stop’,” he said, speaking to The New Humanitarian in the compound of his school project. “You might be able to talk to them about a buffer zone, and humanitarian access, but they won’t give up their dawla.”
However, the intermediary, who was also involved in negotiations over the release of the Chibok girls, sees this as deliberate wishful thinking. “It’s politically impossible for the government of Nigeria to recognise these people,” he insisted. “ISWAP are in an ideological war against [what they term] dar al-kufr [the land of the infidel] – nothing less.”
But some see a more fundamental problem. “So long as ISWAP is winning – and ISWAP is on a roll at the moment – I don’t see them caving in [and agreeing to a settlement],” said Vincent Foucher, a Boko Haram-watcher at France’s National Centre for Science Research.
“Deals happen when both sides are exhausted, and ISWAP is not there at all, and neither is the Nigerian state and military.” The sad truth is that this conflict “doesn’t threaten [Nigeria’s political] core enough – to either gear up to properly prosecute the war, or to cut a deal.”
Nnamdi Kanu formed ESN for the sole purpose of defending the igbo people against these terrorists but today, Nigeria's government is calling for his head while Buhari the chief enabler of terrorism in Nigeria is still enjoying government support and presidential benefits. The same DSS that organized and supported "Sulhu" (a program that only emboldened terrorists) is prosecuting Nnamdi Kanu for terrorism....
As I said if Kanu must be sentenced to death for fighting for his right to self determination then all others who have done worse things like Buhari before him should also face trial. Except you don't believe in justice, Nigeria can never progress without justice.... Killing Kanu or convicting him to jail will not stop the killings in Benue, Ondo, Plateau and other parts of the country.
So Kanu that was hurling hate speech against every tribe and nationality in Nigeria with the exception of his ibo tribe as part of his Biafra agitation nko?
You are now blaming Nigerians who now see you Ibos after kanu indoctrinated and planted the seeds of hate against every other Nigerian as the tribal bigots ?
This is peak gaslighting.
You cheered Kanu on as he insulted and called for violence against every other tribe in Nigeria and here you are now accusing Nigerians of being bigots for wanting to see Kanu face trial for all the fallout of his actions against the state ?
You're the one that is not sincere because if we are to sincerely address the issue of terrorism, Kanu is not Nigeria's problem.... The real supporters and sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria are still roaming free and killing Nigerians.... You still did not answer my question.
helinues: You are not being sincere to your own self for asking that question
What attrocities did he commit in the south east other than telling the truth about the pervasive injustice in Nigeria. @helinues you are always quick to support injustice. Even if you want to punish him for his choice of words, I asked a question earlier, is it fair to punish Kanu and leave Buhari?
helinues: Nnamdi Kanu must be punished for all the atrocities he and his Ipob group brought to South East
In my opinion, a coalition can't unseat Tinunu with out strong electoral reforms..... INEC remains an extension of APC....
DMerciful: A coalition is being formed and one of the goals of the coalition is not to go to court but everything will be decided on election day. Every attempt at rigging will lead to vawulence. What happened in 2023 will not be allowed.
You can believe it or not but Tinubu will be a one-term president
It is a shame that many Nigerians are yet let go of tribal bias and hateful sentiments even in the midst of widespread hunger, insecurity and bad governance. I've observed how so many users of this platform especially those that are of Yoruba descent were quick to attack and condemn Nnamdi Kanu to death in the thread title Terrorism: Nnamdi Kanu Confirmed He Ordered Tinubu, Wike To Be Killed – DSS while the real instigators of terrorism and violence all over Nigeria are roaming free and been celebrated. One person in the list of chief instigators of violence that should come to mind is Buhari. I made a post recently titled Why Nigeria Must Jail Buhari Before Nnamdi Kanu on this platform in which I shared details on how Buhari in the lead up to the 2011 election incited a bloody violence that killed many Nigerians and since then till now, Buhari has never been invited by DSS, detained or made to answer in court for his role. If Buhari can walk free in the aftermath of such a bloody event, why should Nnamdi Kanu's case be different?
Apart from Buhari, there have been several armed groups and political figures that have over the past few years been granted amnesty or pardoned like in the case of Boko Haram fighters who were directly responsible for several mass killings and destruction in the northern part of the country. It is not surprising to me that since I made that post, it has not gotten the massive condemnation or calls to arrest Buhari from users as the thread made against Nnamdi Kanu on this platform.
Sadly, the biased and hateful sentiments towards Nnamdi Kanu is not only prevalent on this platform but it is also been weaponized by malicious political agents offline to fuel the divisive tribal propaganda that has continued to keep Nigerians divided and distracted from the bad policies of the government. Why must Kanu be sentenced to jail when others have done far worse and are free? An unjust sentence will only exacerbate the unrest with in the country while the real sponsors and supporters of terrorism remains emboldened to continue their killing spree. If Nigeria must jail Kanu then Buhari (Fake one or real one) needs to be arrested for the violence he orchestrated that led to the killing of Nigerians. El Rufai, his sons, Niger Delta ex militants, "repentant" Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters, controversial muslim leaders like Sheikh Ahmad Gumi and any other notable religious/political figures that have supported or sponsored violence directly or indirectly within the last few years must also be detained, they must also face trial.... If the government fails to uphold justice by not prosecuting these people then it means Nnamdi Kanu's trial is nothing but a political witch-hunt, a testament of the injustice towards the Igbo people and a validation of his call for the igbos to leave Nigeria.
If this unjust trial is allowed to continued, it will only serve as a catalyst that will lead to the eventual disintegration of the country....
APC is not my party neither am I supporting LP or PDP. I didn't say Tinubu will win Obi because of Soludo's endorsement, Tinubu will win mainly because of Nigerians nonchalant attitude, their refusal to fight for electoral reforms that will provide a level playing ground for a fair election in 2027. When I said "Tinubu's visit was simply a victory celebration... what I meant is that Tinubu has successfully captured the political structures of Anambra state, efforts are now in full swing to ensure he gets block votes in 2027....
bentenny: In other words, your party cannot win an election without rigging! I thought your initial stance was that Tinubu will win Obi because of the endorsement of Soludo? Why are you suddenly changing your stance?
I guess you purposedly shared a part of the broadcast and not the complete broadcast video. Nnamdu Kanu was reacting to the killings of endsars protesters by police men and soldiers who are been ordered to do so by dirty politicians. He was urging the protesters to build weapons and defend themselves. If you're not purposely being economical with the truth then share the full broadcast video.
Christistruth02: How did that justify his orders to burn down Lagos?
Why didn’t he order the same for Onitsha and Enugu too?
Why did he order only the Assets of the indigenous Tribe of SW and Lagos to be destroyed? What exactly was the offence of that Tribe?
Why did he order attacks on all Pastors that supported one Nigeria then?
Yes but Tinubu obviously knows that he won't win majority votes in Anambra. He only needs the state's political structures influence to get a certain percentage of the votes.
Amumaigwe: Soludo may be APC, but Anambra can never be APC. Our Governors don't influence who we vote, we always vote objectively.
I don't believe that Obi can't win, I am only stating facts based on the current situation. Nigerians won't get a fair election in 2027 without fighting for it. I would like to know your thoughts on how Obi can win when it is still the same people running INEC and same judges that helped Tinubu to win in 2023 election.
DMerciful: If you believe Obi can't win, shouldn't that make you happy?
Hey, I am not against Obi or any of the other opposition candidates.... Please read by post again...
Elusive001: Something is definitely wrong with you guys.
We are all for a just, free, prosperous, fair, etc society. We are never Peter Obi's minions. We are not spending our lives for Obi to achieve his political dream. We support him because he fits our aspirations and desires.
Listen to Peter Obi, he only wants the best society for all of us including you.
Thanks for the correction, I've gone ahead to update the post. Again, I expected a superior argument from you on how your candidate Obi can win the next election. This is a social platform, I make my opinion here so as to learn from others. I had asked you a question earlier but you didn't answer, only for you to grandstand by correcting the typo errors in my post. I would like to read your opinion on how Nigerians can make their votes count in 2027 to remove Tinubu's bad government.
ottersberger: I don correct your mistakes. I'm really busy, so I don't have the time to engage in idle, pedestrian banter.
It doesn't matter whether the current Buhari is a fake impostor called Jubril, what matters is that the government must come clean and stop being biased towards Nnamdi Kanu. If Nigeria must jail Kanu then Buhari (Fake one or real one) needs to be jailed for the violence he orchestrated that led to killing of Nigerians during 2011 elections and beyond, El Rufai, his son, Niger Delta ex militants, ex Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters and any other politician that have supported or sponsored violence in the last 20 years need to jailed as well....
The main issue is not whether you vote for Obi or not.... Is about what changes are Nigerians putting in place to make sure their votes count, what deliberate efforts are being made to guard against systemic rigging, a corrupt judiciary and a compromised INEC.... Nothing will change the outcome of a massive victory for APC and Tinubu in 2027 presidential election if none of what I listed above is addressed.....
Streetinvestor2: Una cry never start as obi is aligning with north in 2027 via Atiku. Then again was Anambra state labour party in the last election and obi go over 90% vote even when the governor did not support him. You people don't know how SE hate the SW president. Why will we vote him.To benefit what I ask.What are we benefiting now beside hunger,poverty he is sharing in SW and north
Did we have a president in 2023? Tinubu had nothing to offer Nigerians from day one but to fulfil his selfish political agenda. I've no confidence in the capacity of his government in addressing any of the issues affecting Nigerians. Unfortunately, many Nigerians have decided not to hold his government accountable but instead prefer to wait till 2027 to vote him out, this is why he and his party the APC are frantically preparing and consolidating power to crush the opposition completely before 2027 election....
MadamExcellency: Everyone is talking about Peter Obi. Do we still have a ruling party and a president?
Instead of discussing the current political climate and the attendant sufferings in Nigeria, you people are scared of Tinubu and APC that are holding down Nigeria's destiny.
Just like what happened in 2023 presidential election, Obi will lose again 2027 if he runs, not because Nigerians won't vote for him but because the system is terribly flawed. The painful truth is that Obi or any other opposition politician can't win the APC even if the election is conducted today without a truly independent INEC and strong electoral reforms to checkmate the INEC.
bentenny: 😂😂 Before the last election,they discarded him as a structureless candidate who will not win his Polling unit let alone his LGA!
Today,a governor claimed hilariously that his party has endorsed balablu and as usual,their clownish sycophants are jubilating!
I would like the OP to bear in mind that the state they are referring to do not vote like others and have a history of voting against an unpopular candidate!
Reduce the volume of your temporary celebration as 2027 is still not certain!😊
If you're pained about my opinion, well I do not owe you an apology because I believe what I've said is the truth unless you can prove me wrong. Again, as you tend to have better things to do with your life, why are you commenting on my post? I expected you to proffer superior solution on how best Nigerians can make their votes count in 2027.
ottersberger: Why does the disgrace seem to give you a headache, or should we understand that you do not have better things to do with your life?.
I am only being realistic or will you say that 2023 election was not rigged? What happened after it was rigged, nothing as Tinubu is still the president and consolidating power. You know that Nigerians won't do anything to correct the injustice of 2023 so I don't know why you are pretending not to see this. I wonder... what do you've to say about the last Edo and Ondo governorship elections....?
so once a governor switches parties in Nigeria, all the votes AUTOMATICALLY go the new party with no say from the voters?
Everyday you lot show the world how wicked you all are, with no care for progress of the largest black nation.
Nigeria is filled up with some of the dumbest humans on the planet and it shows.
Imagine that year 2025, still no water and light for the dumbest humans in the world.
Some would ask, do you think the dumbest humans in the world have been able to guarantee 24/7 electricity, and another would just laugh, like how can these dumb baboons ever do anything right
Obi, Atiku or Sowore can win if INEC is truly independent and strong electoral reforms are put in place to checkmate INEC. This is what Nigerians that want to remove this government through the ballot in 2027 should be fighting for now.
yarimo: OBI should settle for house of representatives that's if he will win
Yes it won't reduce the price of rice but it will provide Tinubu the political edge he needs to get block votes in the South East to augment his rigging mathematics for 2027. Tinubu knows that Obi will win Anambra if he runs again in 2027 but he needs a sizable percentage of the votes from Anambra which is guaranteed by capturing the political structures of the state....
gidgiddy: He defects or not will not help reduce the price of Rice
I am not a Tunubu supporter, I am only asking questions I believe Nigerians need to ask. I understand that you support Peter Obi but you need to be realistic and weigh the current political situation without sentiments. Obi can't win, he is setting up himself for another electoral disgrace if he and the opposition fold their arms and do nothing as Tinubu pulls the rug beneath their feet.
Action speaks louder than words.... On several occasions, Sowore has constantly put his life on the line to fight the cruel policies of this current government by leading several protests. How is he playing a script when he has done so much as an opposition force than Peter Obi and Atiku in last 2 years....
I do agree with some points made by Sowore. Atiku and Obi pretends to be the major face of the opposition but their impact seem to be only on the pages of newspapers and social media platforms. During Jonathan's tenure, Tinubu, Buhari, Elrufai and others frequently mobilized Nigerians to protest against the policies of Jonathan's government. What is the point of an opposition if it can't organize protests?
Politics › Re: FLASHBACK: How Buhari Secretly Jeopardized Nigeria's Fight Against Terrorism by truthera(op): 9:35am On May 11, 2025*. Modified: 10:40am On May 11, 2025
