Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi has opened up about a difficult chapter in his military career, revealing how he was allegedly punished by the Nigerian authorities after a successful operation that led to the arrest of Boko Haram’s actual leader and key terrorism financiers.
Speaking in a recent interview, Ali-Keffi narrated how he spearheaded a counterterrorism mission aimed at dismantling financial networks supporting terrorist activities. “There was an operation which I led, the operation servicewide — the counterterrorism — to arrest those terrorism financiers,” he disclosed. “I was the commander of that. I reported straight to the distance.”
According to him, the operation achieved a major breakthrough when they uncovered and captured the true leader of Boko Haram. “As a matter of fact, the leader of Boko Haram… the real leader, we captured. And incidentally or ironically, he’s not even a Nigerian. But he claimed he’s been in Nigeria for some time. But he’s not a Nigerian,” Ali-Keffi stated.
However, what should have been a celebrated moment in his military career took a dark turn. Instead of being acknowledged for his role in the operation, Ali-Keffi claimed he was detained. “Then, in September, October, thereabout… I was invited for interview at the military police headquarters. I turned up there on the 18th and I was arrested myself and detained in the cell,” he recounted.
When asked why he was taken into custody, the retired General admitted he was left in the dark. “I don’t know… when I reported there, the interrogators said… I was removed as a General Officer Commanding on the 8th of August 2021. I handed over on the 10th… and 21 days later I was arrested.”
He further explained that upon his removal from office, he informed the highest authorities in the country. “When I was removed, I reported straight to the presidency… and they said, ‘Do not report, that they were going to address it.’”
Ali-Keffi revealed that the operation had succeeded in rounding up key figures involved in financing terrorism. “We picked those people… including the leader of the BAR, including five of the key guys… I was invited… and I was arrested. So I didn’t know it was a set up.”
