Army To Arrest Buhari’s Appointee Over Shocking Revelation On Boko Haram Earnings

The Nigerian Army has frowned at a statement credited to a member of the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), Dr Sidi Ali Mohammed, who allegedly claimed that each Boko Haram member earns $3,000 on a daily basis while Nigerian soldiers get a paltry N1,000 daily.

Mohammed had been quoted by reports as saying: “The Nigerian military for example, gets N1, 000 per day for being in the North East, at the war front, as an allowance,” adding that, “The same North-East, where if you are a member of Boko Haram you get $3,000 per day as allowance. So it is lucrative. Sometimes, they even give you money upfront. So we must do something about the youth from where they are recruiting.”

The presidential appointee, who heads the Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation arm of the PCNI, reportedly made the statement during a presentation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sub-Sahara Africa’s Economic Outlook Report in Abuja on Monday.

The Army has since reacted angrily to Mohammed’s claim, saying: “This is not true, pure lie and highly irresponsible comment coming from a supposedly knowledgeable person of his calibre.”

The Army, which reacted through its spokesperson, Col. Sagir Musa, said, “It is also criminal and preposterous to compare the gallant soldiers of our Armed Forces with the rag tag terrorists’ criminal gang.”

Col. Musa said the Army suspects that Mohammed, “must have been associated with the terrorists’ group beyond what he may want the public to know for having the knowledge of how much a terrorist earns per day to commit atrocities against fellow Nigerians and other innocent people including women and children.

“His statement could be part of the deliberate attempt to demoralise the patriotic soldiers serving their fatherland so that the terrorists will take advantage of it.

‘’It is also a way of swaying the gullible youths to believe the lies of Boko Haram terrorists as being peddled by him,” he said.

The Army further said it is taking steps to report Mohammed to the appropriate authorities and possibly arrest him over his knowledge of welfare of the Boko Haram terrorists.

“Therefore, we are calling on all Nigerians to discountenance the statement credited to Doctor Sidi Ali Mohammed while we take necessary steps to formally report him to the appropriate authorities to further substantiate these unfounded allegations.

“We would like to assure the public that the Nigerian Army would remain resolute and focused in the fight against terrorism and insurgency in our great nation and no amount of distraction or terrorists’ propaganda will dissuade it,” said the Army.

The PCNI was established by President Muhammadu Buhari “to serve as the primary national strategy, coordination and advisory body for all humanitarian interventions, transformational and developmental efforts in the North-East region of Nigeria.”

The Initiative’s aim is to “oversee all remedial programmes aimed at addressing the crisis in the North East since 2009.”