Retired Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi, the former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division and head of the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW), has provided a detailed insider account alleging how political interference and internal sabotage nearly derailed a military and intelligence operation that successfully led to the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
Ali-Keffi’s account credits the elimination of Shekau largely to the intelligence work of the late Brig. Gen. Abdulrahman Kuliya, the Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI), who died alongside Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru in a May 2021 plane crash.
Ali-Keffi revealed that Gen. Kuliya masterminded a brilliant intelligence strategy that weakened the Boko Haram JAS faction and led to the demise of its notorious leader, Shekau, who killed himself in May 2021 during a confrontation with rival terror group, ISWAP.
Ali-keffi said Kuliya, using intelligence and funds provided by OSW, infiltrated the Boko Haram network.
According to him, the late Brigadier General “came up with the smart idea of playing the Boko Haram and ISWAP against one another by ‘planting’ information and misleading narratives of intentions of the Boko Haram to the ISWAP.”
He said this highly effective tactic led to the fierce infighting between the two terrorist factions, culminating in the weakening and eventual death of Shekau.
The retired general also alleged that operational successes were continuously hampered by sabotage from high levels.
He claimed that in late July 2021, a direct order came from the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency mandating a two-week halt to all ongoing military operations. This followed assurances from Fulani leaders that they would persuade bandit groups to disarm.
Ali-Keffi said he complied with the order, but before the two-week period ended, he and the GOC 8 Division were both removed from their posts.
Ali-Keffi also recalled a longstanding tension with former COAS Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai and alleged that sensitive information about the covert unit, OSW, was being leaked.
He claimed to have learned that confidential information was being leaked through individuals close to the then–Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Hamman-Tukur, due to a relationship between Hamman-Tukur’s elder brother and Buratai.
Ali-Keffi lamented that the May 21, 2021, air crash that killed Gen. Attahiru and Brig. Gen. Kuliya severely damaged the anti-terror effort.
He said the loss of Attahiru, the COAS, weakened operational cover and stalled ongoing offensives, including the joint plan developed with the 8 Division to clear bandit and terrorist enclaves across the North West.
He noted that troops’ morale collapsed, contributing to the release of several high-ranking Boko Haram commanders, financiers, and collaborators.
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