VIDEO: I’ve never been an intermediary for Boko Haram — Ndume

…denies allegation of link with terrorists

Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has dismissed allegations linking him to negotiations with Boko Haram, insisting that he has never acted as an intermediary for the terrorist group or received any money from the Federal Government to negotiate on its behalf.

Ndume made the clarification while reacting to claims by the President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, who alleged that the lawmaker played a mediatory role during negotiations for the release of abducted residents of Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

Kaigama had accused the senator of receiving N5 billion from the Federal Government for negotiations with the insurgents, alleging that only N1.9 billion eventually got to Boko Haram while the remaining balance could not be accounted for.

Speaking on Friday during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Ndume maintained that he has always opposed any form of negotiation or ransom payment to Boko Haram.

“Let me state this here, that I, up to now, and even in the future, do not support negotiating with Boko Haram or paying any ransom,” he said.

“That has been my position ab initio, way, way back. Even during Buhari’s regime, when negotiation was going on on prisoner exchange or whatever they called it, and the ransom was paid to them, I was totally against it. I have been against.”

Responding to questions about previous reports of ransom payments, the senator said he could not speak on behalf of the government, adding that several individuals who claimed to be mediators in the past were later exposed as fraudsters.

“Those cases that you mentioned, I know, way back, have turned out to be fraudulent. In fact, two or three of them are in jail. One has been jailed. A female has been jailed in Borno. A male is under custody, and the other one is under investigation,” he said.

“Because government can be, you know, maybe compromising sometimes by agreeing to a payment of ransom or somebody that claims to be mediator. But what I’m saying is about myself. I’m not supposed to speak for the government.”

Ndume also disclosed that the Federal Government has commenced an investigation into the allegations made against him by Kaigama.

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“The government is doing its own investigation now because he has accused the government of giving me money or appointing me as the mediator or giving me N5 billion and only N1.9 billion was received by Boko Haram,” he said.

“In the first place, I don’t know who appoints mediator. Who appointed Kaigama as a mediator between himself and Boko Haram?”

The lawmaker further recalled that he was arrested and prosecuted in 2011 over alleged connections with a man presented as a Boko Haram negotiator, stressing that the case collapsed after six years because investigators failed to produce any evidence against him.

“Because I remember, in my case, in 2011, when a purported… because the person turns out not to be Boko Haram, actually. And I went to court for six years. Six years, I was… in fact, about one and a half months, I was under detention,” he stated.

“Because DSS claimed that they were doing investigation. And then they took me to court. For six years, there was no evidence. And then they threw out the case.”

Ndume added that the appropriate step is for Kaigama to be invited to provide evidence to support the allegations he made against him.

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