Buhari & Jonathan 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has strongly denied reports suggesting that he accused the late President Muhammadu Buhari of having links with the terrorist group Boko Haram.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan described the claims as a deliberate distortion of his comments, stressing that he never implied or suggested that Buhari had any form of connection with the insurgent group.

“We wish to make it abundantly clear that the former President’s comments were grossly misrepresented,” the statement read. “At no time did Dr. Jonathan suggest, imply, or insinuate that President Buhari had any connection with Boko Haram or that he supported the group in any form.”

According to Eze, Jonathan’s remarks were made during a broader discussion about Nigeria’s security challenges and were only intended to illustrate the deceptive and manipulative tactics used by Boko Haram in its early years.

He explained that Jonathan referenced a documented incident in which certain individuals and factions falsely claimed to represent Boko Haram and went as far as naming prominent Nigerians as mediators without their consent.

“The point Dr. Jonathan sought to make was that Boko Haram, in its characteristic deceit, often invoked the names of respected public figures to sow confusion, exploit political divisions, and undermine public confidence in government,” the statement continued.

Jonathan also clarified that his question asking why Boko Haram did not end its violence when Buhari became president was rhetorical and meant to expose the absurdity of the terrorist group’s false claims, not to accuse the late president of complicity.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Dr. Jonathan recognises that President Muhammadu Buhari, like every patriotic Nigerian, stood firmly against terrorism and was himself a target of Boko Haram violence,” Eze said. “Both men, during their respective tenures, shared a common commitment to restoring peace and stability to Nigeria.”

The Office of the Former President therefore urged the public to disregard what it called “malicious misinterpretations” of Jonathan’s comments, insisting that the former leader remains devoted to peace, national unity, and the strengthening of Nigeria’s democracy.

“He believes that the nation’s progress depends on a truthful understanding of its challenges, not on the distortion of facts for political or sensational purposes,” the statement concluded.

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