How Tinubu and Ribadu Bankrolled Boko Haram

How Tinubu and Ribadu Bankrolled Boko Haram and Sabotaged Nigeria‘s Counter-Insurgency.

The tragedy of the Nigerian state is no longer that its leaders are incompetent; it is that they are criminally complicit. We have watched with weary resignation as insecurity has eaten through the fabric of our nation, but we have now crossed a Rubicon from which there may be no return. The Tinubu-led administration, fronted by National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, has not just failed to secure Nigeria, they have actively funded the very insurgency they swore to destroy.

Comprehensive investigative reporting by international wire services *Agence France Presse* (AFP) and confirmed by local outlets like *The Guardian Nigeria* has laid bare the horrific truth behind the "release" of the 230 students and staff abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, in November 2025 . While the government fed the public a story of a "seamless operation" by gallant security forces, the reality is that President Bola Tinubu and NSA Ribadu presided over a transaction that has permanently altered the balance of power in favor of terror.

Let us state the facts clearly, as verified by multiple intelligence sources who spoke to international investigators. The Nigerian government paid a "huge" ransom to secure the children's freedom. While government officials initially tried to spin the narrative, the logistical details emerging are damning. According to reports, the money, estimated at a staggering **10 billion naira** (approximately $7 million) was loaded onto a helicopter and flown directly to the Boko Haram stronghold in **Gwoza, Borno State**.

But the audacity of the crime does not stop there. Due to the lack of communications coverage in the remote region, the Boko Haram commander, identified as Ali Ngulde, had to cross the border into **Cameroon** just to confirm that the cash had been delivered . The Nigerian government, therefore, not only paid ransom but facilitated a transnational logistics operation for a terrorist group. The message sent to the global community is clear: Nigeria is a failed state that pays protection money to jihadists.

If the financial ransom was not a sufficient indictment of this administration’s hypocrisy, the "deal" brokered by Ribadu went even further. Intelligence sources confirm that as part of the agreement, the government freed **two Boko Haram commanders** from custody .

This is no longer negotiation; this is surrender. By releasing hardened combatants back into the theatre of war, the NSA has directly contributed to the strengthening of the insurgent ranks. These commanders will return to their units with intelligence, experience, and a massive infusion of cash. They will use that money to buy more weapons, recruit more child soldiers, and plan more attacks. The blood of their future victims is on the hands of Ribadu and Tinubu.

Perhaps the most chilling aspect of this affair is the strategic genius it reveals on the part of the terrorists. The abduction was masterminded by the notorious commander known as **Sadiku**, the mastermind behind the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack . Sadiku has now demonstrated that the most effective way to finance the insurgency is not through illegal mining or cattle rustling, but by directly taxing the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Boko Haram has discovered that by targeting a high-profile, emotive target like a Catholic school they can bypass the military and trigger a direct payout from Aso Rock. As Vincent Foucher, a conflict specialist with France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, noted, Sadiku’s faction had relocated and needed funds. Thanks to Tinubu and Ribadu, they got it.

What makes this entire episode a "monumental tragedy" is the insulting nature of the government’s response. In March 2024, President Tinubu stood before the world in an op-ed for *Newsweek* and declared, "**We will not pay a dime to kidnappers.** " He framed ransom payments as an "extortion racket" that must be "squeezed out of existence" . His Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, reiterated that Mr. President had given a direct order that "**not a dime is paid as ransom**" .

We now know those words were a lie. They were a smokescreen designed to mask the administration’s intent to do the exact opposite. When the children were released in December, NSA Ribadu’s office took credit for a "rescue operation" . Now, the international media has revealed it was a paid delivery.

Even now, the State Security Service (SSS) has dismissed the helicopter allegations as "fake news" and "laughable" . But it is not laughable to the soldiers fighting an endless war because their enemies are being rearmed by their own Commander-in-Chief. It is not laughable to the parents who are told their children are safe, while their government has mortgaged the nation’s future security to secure that safety.

The Implications is that we are all Targets now. By paying this ransom, the Tinubu administration has achieved what Boko Haram could not achieve on the battlefield. They have legitimized abduction as the most profitable enterprise in Nigeria. The "kidnap industry" was already estimated to have generated nearly $1.7 million in the last year alone . With this 10 billion naira payout, the insurgents have just received a massive return on investment.

Every school, every village, every highway in Northern Nigeria is now a potential target. Why bother attacking a military base when you can grab schoolchildren and have the President helicopter cash to your door? Why negotiate peace when the government pays you to go away?

The arrival of a U.S. Treasury official in Abuja to discuss counter-terrorist financing is now a cruel irony . The United States is sending troops and trainers to help Nigerian forces, not knowing that the Nigerian government is actively financing the other side. This is the definition of a self-inflicted wound.

As a Nigerian watching from afar, the feeling is not just anger, but despair. We have leaders who preach sacrifice while negotiating surrender. We have an NSA who claims to be a security expert but who has just ensured that the insurgency will outlast his tenure.

The Papiri ransom is not just a payment; it is a policy. It is a declaration by the Tinubu administration that they have no military solution, no political will, and no integrity. They have chosen the path of cowardice, and in doing so, they have signed a death warrant for countless other Nigerians who will be kidnapped to fill Boko Haram’s coffers. This is the legacy of Tinubu and Ribadu: the bankers of Boko Haram.

Nawa-o, these are heavy allegations, abi? When matters of national security and the lives of our children are discussed, we must approach them with the utmost seriousness and factual rigor. While it’s understandable to be frustrated and demand accountability, especially with the widespread insecurity making us all siddon look with concern, one cannot help but notice the reported date for this "investigative reporting." "November 2025" is still in the future, my brother. For such damning claims, the evidence must be koro-koro, clear and present, not something yet to happen. Let's focus on verifiable facts and present realities, because ndi eziokwu (truthful people) deal with what is, not what will be.

Politico, nna, these are profoundly disturbing allegations you've presented. While the frustration with our security challenges is palpable across the nation, making claims of this magnitude – that our leaders are actively funding insurgency – demands an extraordinary level of verifiable evidence. You cited Agence France Presse and The Guardian Nigeria as sources for an abduction in 'November 2025,' which frankly, raises significant questions about the factual basis of your entire assertion. Ah, eleyi gaju! How do we verify an event that hasn't even occurred yet? For accountability to hold any weight, the premises must be sound. We must insist on clarity and unimpeachable facts, ka anyị wee mara ebe anyị kwụ ọtọ (so we know where we stand), not speculative timelines or unsubstantiated gist.

Politico, these are heavy ball-playing allegations you're lobbing, but this 'November 2025' date for a past event ehn? E dey make one wonder if this intelligence report pass through VAR. When the defensive line is compromised from within, the whole formation collapses. This kind fundamental error na why we dey talk say 'Trust the Process' for genuine change; anything less na just another own goal for the nation.

When stones are cast at the shepherds of the flock, the flock itself is unsettled. These are grave matters, for the tongue indeed holds the power of life and death, and words can sow seeds of chaos or clarity.

"Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19). Before the pronouncements of guilt, let the scales of justice weigh evidence with solemn care, for a house built on sand shall surely fall, and a witness found wanting brings reproach upon himself. Seek ye truth, for truth alone sets free.

Wahala be like bicycle, especially when the allegations heavy like this and the dates no dey align.