MURIC slams Atiku’s aide for accusing Shettima of aiding Boko Haram

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has slammed Mr. Phrank Shuaibu, an aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, for accusing Vice President Kashim Shettima of aiding and abetting Boko Haram insurgents during his tenure as governor of Borno.

Shuaibu had on Sept. 8 accused Shettima of aiding and abetting the insurgents during his tenure as governor of Borno. He specifically accused him of aiding in the abduction of the Chibok girls.

But Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director, MURIC, said in a statement on Monday in Abuja that the allegations were false, malicious, odious, and insidious.

“We are confounded both by the weight and intensity of these allegations, particularly against a sitting vice president. They are false, malicious, odious, and insidious. They are simply lies from the pit of Jahannam.

“Somebody must have locked the medulla oblongata of Shaibu and thrown the key away; otherwise, he would not turn the pages of history upside down the way he has just done. How could any rational being accuse VP Shettima of aiding Boko Haram?

“It is on record that former President Goodluck Jonathan threatened to withdraw federal troops from Borno when Shettima, as the state governor, complained of a glaring lackadaisical approach from the federal government to the Boko Haram saga.

‘’He asked if Shettima would be able to stay in the government house if he withdrew federal troops,’’ he said.

Akintola added: “Jonathan’s exact words were, ‘I will pull them out for one month whether he (Shettima) will stay in that his Government House. But if he thinks what he said is correct, then I will pull out of the armed forces for one month.

“Shettima had complained to the visiting president that Boko Haram was gaining the upper hand in the region because Nigerian soldiers are not well armed. But an angry Jonathan gave him the cold response above.

‘’It was more than a response. It was a threat. It was like, ‘Behave, or I will unleash them on you.

“We affirm that Shettima’s complaint was meant to attract better equipment for Nigerian soldiers so that they would be able to confront Boko Haram fighters more effectively.’’

‘’We are of the humble opinion that a governor who is aiding the insurgents would not make such a request; instead, he would have joined the indifferent camp of looters of funds meant for the purchase of weapons for Nigerian soldiers. Shaibu’s allegation against VP Shettima is therefore frivolous, mischievous, and lactiferous.

“Of course, events later proved Shettima right, as reports of the 2.1 million dollar arms fund investigation later revealed that indeed Nigerian soldiers were deprived of weapons and money meant to buy them was shared among Jonathan’s party men.

“We are equally miffed by Shuaibu’s allegation that Shettima aided the kidnapping of the Chibok girls. It is on record that former President Jonathan refused to act for nineteen (19) days after the abduction of the poor girls’’.

‘’It is therefore the zenith of mischief for Atiku’s aide to accuse Shettima of involvement in the ugly incident.

“Official duplicity cannot be totally ignored. For example, in the case of Dapchi, where 110 girls were abducted, the governor of Yobe at the time alleged that soldiers were withdrawn a week before the attack

“Muric admonishes Shuaibu to look elsewhere for those responsible for lapses in the attack on the Chibok girls. We have no doubt that he does not have to look far, perhaps behind his shoulders.”