A former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, has accused the Federal Government of deliberately shielding financiers of terrorism despite repeated promises to publish their names and prosecute them.

Naijaonpoint reports that Dalung, in a letter to Nigerians on Wednesday, shared on the Plateau NUJ platform, said rather than confronting the issue, leaders have resorted to diversionary politics.

The former minister cited several allegations that have lingered without action, including accusations linking some politicians to banditry.

Dalung said, “There are serious allegations that key political figures have directly or indirectly aided terrorism. Senator Shehu Buba of Bauchi South has been accused on several media platforms of sponsoring terrorism, with videos circulating of his engagements with bandits in Zamfara.

“Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has publicly accused the current National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, of feeding and paying bandits. Even the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, recently promised that the names of terrorist financiers would be released, yet Nigerians are still waiting.”

He recalled that the United Arab Emirates once submitted a list of Nigerian terrorist financiers to Abuja, but “to this day, those names have neither been published nor prosecuted. This failure is not a mistake, it reflects deliberate complicity.”

Dalung took aim at Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, accusing him of leading a “distraction campaign” against state police while his constituency “remains ravaged by kidnappings and killings.”

“It is both hypocritical and absurd… Rather than pressing for transparency and accountability, Gagdi has chosen to oppose state policing and distract attention from the real issues,” he said.

The ex-minister dismissed Gagdi’s argument that governors cannot be trusted with state police as “weak, inconsistent, and lazy.”

He further stated, “Has the Federal Government managed federal elections any better? The same federal-controlled security architecture has failed to protect citizens and is itself riddled with corruption, buck-passing, and inefficiency.”

Dalung further questioned what had become of the ₦3.10 trillion defence budget for 2025, lamenting that frontline officers remain poorly equipped while terrorists wield superior weapons.

“Why are our soldiers and police poorly equipped while terrorists and bandits possess superior firepower? Why has oil theft and illegal bunkering continued unchecked under the direct purview of federal agencies, including the Navy Gagdi oversees?” he queried.

The former minister warned that continued silence on terrorism financing could destabilise Nigeria ahead of 2027.

“With ongoing stage-managed peace negotiations and campaigns against state policing, it is evident that the silence on terrorist financiers is a ploy to shield the powerful and manipulate electoral outcomes,” he said.

Quoting late military ruler Sani Abacha, Dalung declared, “If insurgency persists for more than 48 hours, government is involved.”

Dalung aligned with the positions of General T.Y. Danjuma and DSS Director-General Adeola Ajayi, stressing that the only way forward is a constitutional amendment creating state, local government, and community police with full powers.

He also backed the right of citizens to bear arms, adding, “Anything less is complicity in the destruction of Nigeria.”