Former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.), has admitted that some politicians in Nigeria are financing terrorism but insists that the identities of those involved will not be made public because the trials conducted while he was in office were held “away from public consumption.”
Irabor made the revelation during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, where he was pressed on rising attacks on Christian communities, the politicisation of insecurity, and recent comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump alleging “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
Speaking on claims that Christians were being deliberately targeted, Irabor said Nigeria’s security crisis is a “multi-layered monster” involving ideological terrorists, religious extremists, politically motivated actors, and criminal gangs seeking territorial control.
“Just as you have terrorists with an ideology, you also have those bent on targeting Christians. There are also those targeting communities to displace them for leverage,’ he said.
“And then you have economic criminals. They all operate for different reasons. Lumping it together under one theory is wrong.”
He added that while some individuals try to frame every attack as political, others blame it solely on religious extremism, but both views ignore the complexity of the conflict.
“Some politicians have taken advantage of poor governance and insecurity to gain leverage, to create impressions they can do better, or even instigate crises. But that doesn’t mean everything is political, or that all politicians are involved,” Irabor said, replying to a question on whether terrorism and banditry in Nigeria are political.
When asked why the government has refused to publicly reveal the names of alleged terror financiers, especially those in politics, Irabor acknowledged that some suspects were indeed tried, but the processes were deliberately kept away from Nigerians.
“There were some trials that were made, especially for the financiers. It’s not for public consumption,” he said, refusing to confirm whether any convictions were secured.
The retired general urged Nigerians to “trust” government officials handling national security matters and insisted that not all public office holders are corrupt or complicit.
“Not everybody in government is a criminal or a liar. There are many Nigerians who truly want to deliver on the mandate for which they were appointed or elected,” he stated.
Responding to Trump’s recent claims that Christians were facing “genocide” in Nigeria and that the U.S. should intervene “guns blazing,” Irabor said external actors often misread Nigeria’s complex conflict.
“You can’t stop people from having views. But the issues here are multifaceted. Saying everything is genocide is oversimplification,” he said.
Irabor’s comments reopen long-standing questions about the government’s refusal to publicly name and prosecute those bankrolling terrorism, especially after the 2021 arrest of several alleged financiers.
Despite repeated promises, including from the Buhari and Tinubu administrations, no official list has ever been published, and no high-profile politician has been publicly charged for funding Boko Haram, bandits, or other armed groups.
