By Maryam Abdul-aziz Usman
Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has rejected suggestions that the arrest of politician Alhaji Wakiil Goni Mama, popularly known as Mai Salati, was politically motivated, insisting that the military has nothing to do with politics.
Buni spoke on Thursday during the swearing-in of commissioners and chairmen of the 17 local government areas in Damaturu, where he disclosed that he had directed the chairman of Geidam Local Government Area to follow up on the case with military authorities and community elders.
The governor’s remarks come amid allegations in some quarters that he was behind Mai Salati’s arrest and had used the military to target the politician over political differences.
Dismissing the insinuations, Buni said he has no history of opposition bullying, insisting that threatening political opponents was inconsistent with his principles.
“I reached out to the Geidam chairman, instructed him to follow up on the case with the military commander and other elders on the case and report back to me,” the governor said.
“It is not in my principle to threaten opposition,” he added.
Buni also maintained that the military should not be drawn into partisan political disputes, insisting that Mai Salati’s case was not political.
It could be recalled that troops of the Nigerian Army’s Operation Hadin Kai reportedly arrested Mai Salati in early October over allegations of providing logistics support to suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of the Boko Haram insurgency operating in the North-East.
Reports published by TheCable and other media organisations on October 8 and 9 said the arrest followed an alleged attempt by the politician to bribe soldiers to secure the release of suspects arrested in Kanamma, Yobe State, over suspected terrorist logistics activities.
According to the reports, the suspects were being processed for further investigation when Mai Salati allegedly intervened to secure their release by offering money to military personnel.
The soldiers reportedly rejected the alleged inducement and arrested him instead, with security sources saying he and other suspects were subsequently moved from Damaturu to Maiduguri for further investigation.
The arrest generated political controversy, with reports highlighting speculation that it might be connected to Mai Salati’s reported defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Security sources cited in the initial reports rejected the suggestion that the operation was politically motivated, maintaining that it concerned allegations of terrorism-related logistics and an attempt to interfere with the detention of suspects.
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