Chuks Ibegbu, former deputy publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said that Boko Haram terrorists, armed bandits who carry out kidnapping for ransom and other forms of crimes, are being sponsored by Northern elders.
According to him, the northern elders he did not name, were sponsoring the criminal activities to make Nigeria ungovernable.
Ibegbu, who is the chairman of board of trustees of the World Igbo People’s Assembly, WIPAS, said that the sponsors continue to benefit from ransoms being paid by victims and from other illegal businesses as criminal activities grow rapidly in the country.
According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari had sympathy for these Northern elders before becoming President of the country, adding that for this reason, he (Buhari) does not want to clamp down on them.
In a statement he signed and made available to reporters on Tuesday, he sternly warned the government and Northern leaders against negotiating with bandits who now run riot in the North, as doing so will embolden them to do worse things.
“Some Northern leaders are sponsoring kidnapping and banditry in the North to make Nigeria ungovernable.
“The heat is now on the president and he is frustrated over the matter.
“Yes, during the Jonathan time, Buhari had sympathy for those plotting to make Nigeria ungovernable but he did not know that the wind sown then will now turn into a whirlwind and haunt them,” he added in the statement.
