Jonathan Denies Accusing Buhari of Boko Haram Links Following Book Launch Comment on Negotiator Nomination

Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has moved swiftly to quell media speculation, categorically denying reports that he accused the late President Muhammadu Buhari of having any form of link or connection to the Boko Haram terrorist group. The denial comes after Jonathan’s remarks during a book presentation were widely interpreted as an insinuation of complicity.

The controversy erupted following Jonathan’s speech on Friday, October 3, 2025, at the public presentation of the book “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum”, authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja. During the event, Jonathan had referenced a historic moment during his administration when, as part of efforts to initiate dialogue with the insurgents, a faction of Boko Haram had nominated then-General Muhammadu Buhari as their preferred negotiator.

In a clarification statement released on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan stressed that his remarks were “grossly misrepresented”. The statement clarified, “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 the former president, his comments were merely intended to “illustrate the deviousness and manipulative strategies employed by Boko Haram in their early years.” He emphasized that the main thrust of his argument was that if Buhari had truly been the terrorist group’s choice to negotiate peace, the insurgency should have come to a swift conclusion once Buhari assumed the presidency in 2015, highlighting the complexity and deceitfulness of the conflict.

The Office of the Former President urged the public to disregard the misleading reports, affirming that “Dr. Jonathan recognizes that President Muhammadu Buhari, like every patriotic Nigerian, stood firmly against terrorism and was himself a target of Boko Haram violence.” The statement concluded that both leaders, during their respective tenures, shared a “common commitment to restoring peace and stability to Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the former spokesperson for the late President Buhari, Garba Shehu, swiftly countered the initial claim of nomination on Friday, describing Jonathan’s assertion as “false, misleading and politically motivated.” Shehu maintained that neither of Boko Haram’s deceased leaders ever nominated Buhari, who was famously the target of a Boko Haram bomb attack in 2014.