Borno State commissioner for education, Musa Inuwa Kubo, has challenged the media aides of former President Goodluck Jonathan to ask him why he concealed a report of a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee he constituted to investigate the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls on April 14, 2014 rather than make allegations against the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima.
Kube noted that the former president had constituted and inaugurated the committee on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, and that received their report on June 20, 2014, but that he deliberately kept mute on the report.
Kubo, who was among those interviewed by the committee, spoke in response to a statement issued by Ikechukwu Eze, media aide to President Jonathan, on Friday night, in which Eze challenged Governor Shettima to tell Nigerians whatever he knew regarding the April 14, 2014 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram at Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State.
He also said there was never a time the Principal of Government Secondary School, Chibok, was considered for any appointment, not to mention becoming a commissioner.
He described the claim by Jonathan’s media team as an irresponsible mischief.
He opined that, “For the purpose of records, Eze and his colleagues are pointing the wrong direction; they should ask their principal, President Goodluck Jonathan, why he deliberately refused to make public the report of a committee he constituted, inaugurated and received their findings on facts surrounding the Chibok abduction and who is to blame for it.”
He recalled that on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, President Jonathan had inaugurated multi-agency/stakeholder fact-finding committee under the chairmanship of Brig. General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), a one-time Director of Military Intelligence, with secretary of the committee coming from the Niger Delta.
” President Jonathan single-handedly selected all members of that committee which included representatives of the UN, ECOWAS, retired and security officers from the Army, DSS and Police; representatives of the Chibok community, local and international civil rights organisations, representatives of the National Council of Women Societies, the Nigeria Union of Journalists and some of his highly trusted associates.” he said.
He further stressed that, “For nearly two months, the committee undertook thorough investigation that included forensic assessment of all documents on the entire issues, held meetings with parents of the schoolgirls, visited Chibok, met with the then Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, the director-general of the DSS and the inspector-general of Police, all of whom were appointees of President Jonathan.
“The committee also met with officials of Borno Government, including myself and the school principal. The committee held meetings with heads of different security agencies in Borno State, including security formations in charge of Chibok, and after compiling their findings, the committee submitted its report directly to President Jonathan on Friday, June 20, 2014 in Aso Rock.”
Kubo wondered why President Jonathan deliberately refused to make the contents of the report public.
According to him, “Here is another question: if the findings had indicted Governor Shettima or the Borno State Government in anyway, does anyone really think Jonathan would have concealed that report given his open hatred for Shettima and the fact that the Governor was in the opposition party?.”
Kubo noted that if there was one Nigerian that assisted Jonathan in the fight against Boko Haram it was Governor Shettima who single-handedly funded the civilian JTF without any support from the federal government, even when Jonathan himself repeatedly acknowledged the roles played by civilian JTF in whatever success his administration recorded in fighting the insurgency.
The commissioner noted that Jonathan’s decision to constitute that committee was a miraculous intervention by God to preserve the innocence of Governor Shettima and his administration.
He called on President Jonathan’s media team to stop making baseless allegations in order to deceive the public.
LEADERSHIP.