Retired Nigerian Army Major General Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi has alleged that two prominent figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who opposed President Bola Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s presidential candidate sought to obtain his confidential records from United States government agencies before the 2023 presidential election.
Ali-Keffi, a former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, said the alleged move was brought to his attention by Modibbo Hamman-Tukur, the former Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), during the period leading to the APC presidential primary.
The retired general made the allegation in an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters, while discussing the political activities surrounding the emergence of Tinubu as the APC presidential candidate and the role played by several prominent figures within the party.
Ali-Keffi recalled that he was previously the Commander of Operation Service Wide, an operation he described as being focused on terrorism financing and the leadership structure of terrorist organisations.
According to him, it was during that period that Hamman-Tukur told him about an alleged attempt by prominent APC figures opposed to Tinubu to obtain confidential information about the former Lagos State governor from the United States.
He said the individuals allegedly entered the NFIU director’s office without authorisation and sent communications to US government agencies requesting information concerning Tinubu.
“Two prominent APC people who were against Tinubu entered illegally into the office of NFIU director and sent messages to the US government agencies requesting confidential records of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on those issues – terrorism financing,” Ali-Keffi said.
He said Hamman-Tukur became uncomfortable with what was happening and subsequently went to his office at about 2am, after which those involved allegedly realised that he had arrived and left.
According to Ali-Keffi, a response from the United States subsequently arrived concerning the request for information on Tinubu.
“I don’t know what the record is or related to current issues regarding his forfeiture and other issues, if I am not mistaken,” he said.
The retired general stressed that he did not know the contents of whatever information was allegedly sought or received from the US authorities.
He also did not claim that the records established any wrongdoing by Tinubu.
Rather, he said the information he was recounting was based on what the former NFIU director told him at the time.
Ali-Keffi said the NFIU officials allegedly involved in the matter were later dismissed and that the issue eventually became the subject of litigation.
He further alleged that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai was aware of the operation and some of the information that came from the United States concerning Tinubu.
According to him, El-Rufai was among those who had access to information relating to the investigation but opposed the use of confidential information against Tinubu.
Ali-Keffi said this was significant because El-Rufai and other influential figures were involved in discussions over who should emerge as the APC presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 election.
He recalled that he personally voted for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, largely because of El-Rufai’s argument that power should shift from the North to the South in the interest of national unity.
“Had people like the former NFIU Director and people like El-Rufai who were in the know, who were aware of that documents that were sent in respect of candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had they allowed it to get to public domain at that time, I believe it would have perhaps hurt the candidaty of Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Certainly, he wouldn’t have gotten the ticket to fly the flag of APC at that time,” Ali-Keffi said.
He said El-Rufai’s position at the time was particularly important because, despite allegedly being aware of negative information concerning Tinubu, the former Kaduna governor supported the argument that the APC should produce a Southern candidate.
Ali-Keffi also recounted an account involving former Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chairman Muhammad Nami and an unnamed powerful minister who, he said, was initially opposed to Tinubu’s emergence as APC presidential candidate.
According to Ali-Keffi, Nami told him that while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he visited the hotel room of the unnamed minister, who was close to then-President Muhammadu Buhari, to persuade him to support Tinubu.
The minister, according to Ali-Keffi, warned that Tinubu would eventually move against certain people if he became president.
“Look, Ahmed Tinubu is going to come after them. He was going to do this and that. You people don’t know this,” Ali-Keffi recalled the minister as saying.
He said Nami nevertheless tried to persuade the minister by arguing that power should move to the South for the sake of national unity.
Ali-Keffi said the eventual decision to support Tinubu was part of a broader political calculation within the APC at the time.
The retired general, however, said he now regrets voting for Tinubu.
“I regret actually voting for him,” he said.
He also declared that he would not support the APC at the next election.
“I’m not going to vote APC next election,” Ali-Keffi said.
His comments come amid continuing political disputes over the circumstances surrounding Tinubu’s emergence as the APC’s presidential candidate and the roles played by various party leaders in the process.
Ali-Keffi’s account, however, does not establish the contents of the alleged US records or independently demonstrate that they contained damaging information about Tinubu.
His allegation regarding the request for the records is based substantially on what he said Hamman-Tukur told him.
