“How I was punished for capturing real Boko Haram leader” – Retired Major General Ali-Keffi
Retired Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi has claimed he was punished rather than rewarded after leading a high-profile, presidentially approved counter-terrorism operation that captured top Boko Haram commanders—including the man he describes as the group’s “real leader.”
In a letter addressed to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of the Nigerian Army alleged that shortly after the successful operation, he was forced into retirement, arrested, and held in solitary confinement for 64 days.
Ali-Keffi had been appointed to head Operation Service Wide, a special investigative unit tasked with uncovering Boko Haram’s command structure, funding networks, and internal collaborators. According to him, the operation exposed a troubling network of terror financiers embedded within senior government circles, the military, and major financial institutions.
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But immediately after these arrests were made, he claimed powerful interests moved to shut down the investigation.
“The moment we arrested some of these individuals and started exposing the financial pipelines of terror, the backlash began,” he wrote, alleging that entrenched actors sought to suppress the findings and silence the investigators.
The retired General also questioned the circumstances surrounding the 2021 military plane crash that killed then–Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru. He described Attahiru as a staunch supporter of aggressive action on terror financing and suggested that his death may require renewed scrutiny.
Ali-Keffi urged President Tinubu to order an independent and transparent probe into both the alleged sabotage of Nigeria’s anti-terror efforts and the crash that claimed Attahiru’s life.
The explosive allegations, now widely circulating, have intensified calls for accountability. Security analysts warn that if proven, the claims point to deep-seated compromises within Nigeria’s security architecture.
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The revelations have further ignited debate over who profits from Nigeria’s prolonged insurgency and why whistleblowers within the system appear to face retaliation instead of protection.
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