Prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has once again raised serious allegations connecting former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff to the early days of the Boko Haram insurgency, urging the ex-governor to take legal action if he considers the claims untrue.
Falana made the remarks in a video that has been circulating widely on social media platforms. In the clip, the senior advocate revisited earlier statements he made concerning the roots of the deadly sect in Borno State.
According to Falana, Sheriff allegedly offered financial backing to the group and struck a political agreement with its members ahead of the 2003 governorship election in the state. “Not only did he sponsor that organisation by providing funds for them, in 2003 he had a deal with the Boko Haram sect to get him to win the election,” he claimed.
The lawyer further alleged that after assuming office, Sheriff appointed Buji Foi as Commissioner for Religious Affairs. Foi later resigned from the cabinet. Falana also referenced reports that Sheriff was once arrested in Cameroon over purported connections to the insurgent group before his release.
He drew on past assertions by the late Reverend Stephen Davis, who had publicly named certain influential Nigerians as financiers of the insurgency. These renewed comments come amid ongoing national conversations about the origins and persistence of Boko Haram, which has claimed thousands of lives and displaced many more across the Northeast since its emergence.
Ali Modu Sheriff has repeatedly and strongly denied any involvement with Boko Haram over the years. No court of law has delivered a judgment establishing his complicity in the group’s activities.
The latest remarks by Falana, a vocal critic of impunity and advocate for accountability in security matters, have reignited debate on the complex political and social factors that enabled the sect’s growth in its formative years. Analysts often point to the interplay between local politics, religious extremism, and governance failures in the region as contributing elements, though definitive proof in individual cases remains elusive in many instances.
As of the time of filing this report, no immediate reaction has been received from Ali Modu Sheriff or his representatives concerning Falana’s latest video statement.
“Ali Modu Sheriff Started the Boko Haram in Borno State. He provided funds & had a governorship reelection deal with them in 2003–Femi Falana challenged him to Sue. pic.twitter.com/reJAMhyHnS
— Bishop (@BishopPOEvang) July 7, 2026
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