By Kingsley Omonobi
Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd), has said the Boko Haram insurgency was not a war of religion but a war of evil — a campaign of terror waged by fanatics who hid under the guise of Islam to inflict pain, suffering, and devastation on innocent Nigerians.
Irabor, who revealed this in Chapter 7 of his newly launched book titled “SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” said the group’s claim of fighting for religious purity was merely a cover for the monstrous acts it carried out against both Muslims and Christians across Nigeria.
“Nigerians and the international community must understand that Boko Haram were purveyors of anguish and torment under the cloak of religious puritanism,” Irabor wrote.
“From the onset, their intention was not to defend faith but to unleash mass killings, abductions, and destruction on the populace. The destructions were so monumental that one could not comprehend the objectives Boko Haram intended to serve even if they achieved the so-called caliphate they projected.”
According to the former Defence Chief, the insurgents deliberately planned and executed the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction and the Nyanya Bus Station bombing on the same day in April 2014 to attract global attention and distract security agencies.
“It should be noted that the abduction of the Chibok girls came on the same day as the Nyanya Bus Station bomb blast. Boko Haram synchronized it while the attention of government agencies was focused primarily on salvaging the aftermath of the Nyanya attack,” he said.
“It thus provided Boko Haram some advantage of freedom of action on the night of the abduction.”
The Chibok abduction, which led to the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls, sparked global outrage and birthed the #BringBackOurGirls movement that drew international condemnation and support for Nigeria’s anti-terror efforts.
Irabor described the episode as one of the most heartbreaking incidents in Nigeria’s history, noting that it exposed the limitations of security agencies at the time and underscored the need for greater intelligence coordination and rapid response.
“The abduction of the Chibok girls did happen. The suggestions that it was staged are baseless and unhelpful. I personally visited the site two days after the incident and saw firsthand the level of destruction. It remains one of the darkest moments of our national history,” Irabor recalled.
He also detailed other gruesome attacks by Boko Haram, including the Buni Yadi massacre of February 2014, where 59 students were killed in their sleep.
“Those boys were burnt alive in their hostels. It was a most cruel, devilish act that demonstrated Boko Haram’s hatred for education and progress. Their message was clear — that Western education is forbidden,” Irabor lamented.
The retired general chronicled how the terror group carried out bombings in Jos, Potiskum, Madalla, and Abuja, as well as the attacks on the United Nations building and Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, which killed dozens and injured hundreds.
“Their attacks were intended to provoke religious conflict by targeting churches and mosques to inflame tensions between Christians and Muslims,” he said.“However, the responsiveness of government and religious leaders at the time prevented a full-scale sectarian war.”
Irabor also recounted Boko Haram’s systematic destruction of critical infrastructure.
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