Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt- General Azubuike
Ihejirika (rtd), has threatened to drag the Australian
negotiator, Stephen Davis to court if he fails to
retract his earlier statement alleging that he
(Ihejirika) was a Boko Haram sponsor.
It would be recalled that Davis in an interview with
Australian ABC and Nigerian Arise TV stations, said
he was informed by Boko Haram commanders
whom he interacted with, that there were prominent
politicians, who have been providing funding for
their terror activities.
He was quoted to have said: “There is a former
Chief of Army Staff, who retired in January, rightly
sacked by the President, who is another sponsor of
the Boko Harm sect.”
The threat by Ihejirika to sue was contained in an
advertorial published in a national daily on Friday by
his solicitors, Illegbune & Co, entitled, “Complainant
of your fictitious, unfounded, malicious and gravely
defamatory allegation of sponsorship of Boko
Haram insurgency by LT. General Onyeabo Azu
buike Ihejirika.”
In the advertorial, Ihejirika demanded a well-worded
apology which should be published in local and
international print and electronic media, including at
least three Nigerian national newspapers, within
seven working days that started counting yesterday.
It also demanded a payment of $50 billion to be
made as compensation to Ihejirika, for the
irreparable loss to his highly earned image and
reputation.
“Be strongly warned that, if at the expiration of the
above period, you fail, refuse or neglect to comply
with the demands, we shall be left with no other
option than to proceed with requisite legal action for
libel against you, to redeem the sterling image and
reputation of our client; wherein we shall be
demanding for specific and exemplary damages,
without further recourse to you. In that case , you
will have yourself, and not Ihejirika to blame.” the
advertorial reads in parts.
It also highlighted Ihejirika’s achievement during his
time as Chief of Army Staff, saying that’s what
made this present government to award him with
the Commander of the Federal Republic(CFR).
“It is on record that the Nigerian Army under our
Ihejirika’s watch battled the deadly Boko Haram
insurgents and other militant groups and security
threats across the country and beyond, to a
standstill preventing them from settling up camps in
Kogi , Niger, Sokoto, Kano, Adamawa and some
other states.
Glaringly, General Ihejirika fought the Boko Haram
terrorists and other militant groups with incisive
military resolve and ensured that all military
commands and units were issued clear and
unambiguous instructions aimed at ridding the
country of insurgency.
“It is worthy to note that as Chief of Army Staff, like
all other military chiefs before and after him,
Ihejirika maintained visible spread of officers and
soldiers across ethnic and religious divide in all
command and units, along the length and breadth
of the country.
‘‘We make bold to state without fear of contradic
tion, that Ihejirika had never overtly or covertly,
identified with, aligned with, entertained and or
shared any form of terrorist ideology, much more
the thought of having anything to do with the
sponsorship of Boko Haram terrorists or any crim
inal activity or group, and would never do so. Such
a baseless allegation is, to say the least, a figment
of the originators ‘s imagination,” it said.
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