I Never Sponsor Boko Haram - Sen Ndume

Senator Ali Ndume yesterday took a swipe at the Nigerian media alleging that the local press have succeeded in convicting him on the pages of newspapers and related mediums over “false” allegations naming him as a Boko Haram sponsor.

Ndume (Borno South, PDP) while justifying President Goodluck Jonathan declaration of emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, stated that the military campaign against Boko Haram terror campaigns have been limited to some areas as the Islamist extremist according to reports available to him have continued in its kidnapping, murder and related terror activities in many other part especially in Borno.

The Senator made the disclosures on Monday in an interview with Senate correspondents at the National Assembly.

LEADERSHIP recalls that Ndume was appointed to a committee established by President Goodluck Jonathan to consider opening talks with Boko Haram. In November 2011, Senator Ndume was reported to be linked to Boko Haram. This alleged connection to Boko Haram was made following the Nigerian State Security Service’s interrogation of a suspected Boko Haram member, Mallam Ali Konduga. On November 21, 2011 LEADERSHIP reported that Ndume had been arrested. He has been charged to court over the allegation.

Ndume: “I have been one of those that have been most unfair to. What is keeping

me strong is my religion and my belief in God that if you do to me what I didn’t do, God will not forgive you. Why should you go and write something about somebody when you know it is libelous? You know what I went through. People just wrote anything.

“They wrote that Ali Ndume is a sponsor of Boko Haram. I don’t have a credit card, I don’t have an account besides the one I have in National Assembly; I don’t even have an ATM card. That is how I operate. Some of you that know me when they saw me after I was released they cried, because they know me.

“If I was Boko Haram truly, I wouldn’t have been arrested. After me, did they arrest

anybody, any high ranking Nigerian related to Boko Haram? Even if it is true that I am related to Boko Haram, do you think that these operations that these insurgents are carrying out is single handedly sponsored by Ndume?.

“This government and most Nigerians listen to the press. If you have the press support and it swings this way for you, people will let you go. I was already convicted by the press initially. I’m in court now, so I don’t want to talk to much about it.

By: Edegbe Odemwingie, Jonathan Nda-Isaiah