A security and intelligence expert, Dr. Nazir Ribadu, has dismissed recent claims linking former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai (retd.), to terrorist financing or collaboration, describing the allegations as baseless, illogical and deeply unfair.
In a personal reflection titled “A Personal Reflection on Service, Sacrifice, and Unfounded Attacks,” Ribadu said his position is rooted in research and operational analysis, not personal ties.
“I have never met General Buratai. My engagement with his career has been through after-action reports, strategy papers, and timelines of battles,” he wrote. “The suggestion that he collaborated with the very terrorists he fought is not just illogical — it insults the reality of that war.”
Ribadu noted that Buratai led the Nigerian Army at the height of the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency, overseeing major counterterrorism operations, territorial recoveries and the neutralisation of several high-profile commanders. He argued that none of the country’s investigative institutions — the EFCC, DSS or financial-intelligence agencies — have produced evidence to support the latest claims.
He also questioned the credibility of media reports making the allegations, pointing to earlier instances in which state governments, including Plateau and Ekiti, publicly discredited stories published by the same platforms. “When an outlet repeatedly publishes claims that are later shown to be false, it loses the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
Ribadu suggested that Buratai’s firm decisions while in uniform may have unsettled entrenched interests who now seek to malign him. While encouraging robust scrutiny of Buratai’s strategies, he insisted such debates must be grounded in verifiable facts, not “character assassination.”
“In a sane society, we should be debating his legacy, not questioning his loyalty without evidence,” he stated, arguing that Buratai’s tenure remains a reference point for studying military leadership under severe national strain.
Calling the situation “tragic,” Ribadu criticised what he described as Nigeria’s pattern of targeting former public servants once they leave office, rather than conducting fair, evidence-driven assessments of their records.
“Beneath the uniform and headlines is a human being who served this country,” he said. “At the very least, that deserves fairness.”
