Retired General Ali-Keffi Alleges Malami Among Officials Linked to Terror Suspects (Full List)
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A retired senior military officer, Maj. Gen. Danjuma Ali-Keffi, has made far-reaching claims regarding a controversial counter-terrorism operation he once led under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. His account, now in the public domain, alleges the existence of a large network of terrorism-financing suspects with links to influential political, financial, and military figures in Nigeria.
Ejes Gist News reports that the revelations emerged from a detailed narrative provided by Ali-Keffi, who formerly commanded 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and served as General Officer Commanding (GOC). He was appointed in 2021 to head an inter-agency intelligence mission known as Operation Service Wide (OSW). The assignment was mandated to identify Boko Haram’s internal collaborators, uncover financial sponsors, and dismantle networks enabling insurgent operations.
Ali-Keffi’s disclosures, based on what he described as official briefings from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) during the operation, have triggered renewed public debate about accountability, unresolved cases of terrorism financing, and the alleged suppression of critical national security investigations.
Origin of Operation Service Wide and Its Mandate
Operation Service Wide was constituted as a multi-agency task force with representatives from military, intelligence, and financial regulatory bodies. Its primary objective was to track financial flows within Nigeria’s formal and informal sectors, identify extremists’ financial channels, and arrest key suspects linked to insurgent activities.
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According to Ali-Keffi, the operation relied heavily on data analytics, financial intelligence, and confidential banking reports obtained from the NFIU and partner institutions. The NFIU reportedly provided OSW with suspicious transaction alerts, beneficial ownership details, and flagged accounts with unusual inflows or outflows allegedly associated with terrorism financing.
The retired general stated that the unit’s findings were far more extensive than initially expected and eventually pointed to a network of actors linked to influential figures across government and the military establishment.
NFIU’s Secret Briefing to Buhari: The Turning Point
The retired general said the most consequential moment in OSW’s investigation occurred in September 2021 when the NFIU presented a classified intelligence briefing directly to former President Buhari.
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According to his account, the briefing contained financial mapping that allegedly connected certain arrested terrorism-financing suspects to high-ranking Nigerians, including:
- two suspects reported to have business links with former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd);
- two other suspects reportedly linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN);
- one suspect linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele;
- one suspect linked to former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Faruk Yahaya (rtd).
Ali-Keffi emphasised repeatedly that neither he nor OSW concluded that any of the aforementioned individuals were involved in terrorism financing. He said the NFIU only indicated that financial or business relationships existed between those individuals and the suspects under investigation.
He stated that the intelligence was considered significant enough to be presented to Buhari confidentially, with the expectation that subsequent directives would accelerate prosecution and asset forfeiture processes.
Arrest, Interrogation, and 64-Day Detention
Ali-Keffi’s account indicated that shortly after the confidential presidential briefing, the trajectory of his assignment changed abruptly.
He said he was summoned to the Headquarters of the Military Police on 18 October 2021, ostensibly for clarification on OSW-related matters. Upon arrival, he was detained, interrogated for hours, and subsequently held in custody for 64 days.
During this period, he was neither formally charged nor queried. This, he stated, marked the early phase of what he described as institutional resistance to OSW’s findings.
The retired general claimed that his detention was a coordinated effort to terminate the investigation, remove him from the operation, and prevent further pursuit of terrorism-financing prosecutions.
Petition to President Tinubu and Alleged Institutional Silence
Following his compulsory retirement, Ali-Keffi submitted a petition seeking redress from President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He alleged that no action was taken on the petition and subsequently approached the National Industrial Court.
He stated that the court has not commenced substantive hearing because, according to his lawyer, critical court papers were reportedly not served on the Nigerian Army, giving rise to suspicion of procedural interference.
Powerful Individuals Allegedly Linked to Terrorism-Financing Suspects
The retired general insisted that his statements are based on direct information provided to him by Modibbo Hamman-Tukur Ribadu, the then-Director/CEO of the NFIU. He said Ribadu worked closely with the operation and personally briefed him on associations uncovered during intelligence analysis.
His clarification emphasised the following:
- The links were based solely on business or transactional relationships.
- OSW found no evidence implicating Buratai, Malami, Emefiele, or Yahaya in terrorism or knowingly supporting terrorist activity.
- Some suspects were operators in legitimate sectors such as Bureau De Change, which investigators believed served as a cover for illicit dealings.
- The intelligence assessment was not equivalent to a finding of guilt.
Ali-Keffi also alleged that Buratai requested the then-NFIU boss to intervene by urging him to release two suspects. He said he declined and instead informed President Buhari, who instructed him to report “directly and exclusively” to the presidency.
$600 Million Offshore Account and Alleged $50 Million Bribe Attempt
One of the most significant discoveries of OSW, according to Ali-Keffi, involved an international suspect, Aboubacar Hima. The suspect was allegedly found to own an offshore account containing about $600 million.
The NFIU reportedly traced the account and notified the United States Financial Intelligence Unit, which subsequently froze the funds.
Ali-Keffi claimed the then-NFIU boss later informed him that someone acting for the suspect allegedly offered $50 million for Nigeria to clear the funds and request the U.S. to unfreeze the account. He said he refused to engage in any negotiation.
Upon his release from detention, he said he was informed that the Nigerian government eventually wrote to U.S. authorities requesting that the account be unfrozen.
Efforts to Derail the Investigation
The retired general insisted that OSW gathered sufficient evidence to file terrorism-financing charges against 48 suspects in custody. However, he alleged that:
- pressure was exerted to downgrade the charges to money laundering;
- a senior prosecution lawyer assisting OSW was removed after refusing to compromise her professional position;
- the Attorney General’s office did not pursue asset forfeiture processes;
- there was institutional preference to transfer the case to the EFCC, which he believed would lead to less scrutiny.
According to his account, these developments indicated a deliberate attempt to stall the investigation.
Release of Suspects and Suspension of Operation Service Wide
Following his detention and forced retirement, Ali-Keffi said Operation Service Wide effectively collapsed. He stated that:
- the suspects arrested under OSW were eventually released;
- none of the 20 top suspects or others held were charged to court;
- the suspects were allegedly warned against going to the media or initiating legal action over their prolonged detention;
- the NFIU was reportedly pressured to abandon its terrorism-financing position.
He said these details were confirmed to him by individuals familiar with the events.
List of Over 400 High-Value Targets, Including Boko Haram’s Shekau
One of the most consequential disclosures from Ali-Keffi was that OSW maintained a classified list of over 400 individuals marked for arrest or neutralisation.
According to him, the list included high-profile insurgents, financiers, and logistical facilitators. He claimed that Boko Haram commander Abubakar Shekau was on the list and suggested that military operations leading to his death were “engineered” as part of the OSW framework.
He clarified that OSW’s objective was to dismantle the operational, financial, and support structures of Boko Haram, leveraging joint intelligence and coordinated field operations.
Questions Raised Over Proceeds, Recovered Funds, and Official Actions
Ali-Keffi maintained that the NFIU, EFCC, and Office of the Attorney General are in the best position to explain:
- whether funds traced to suspects were recovered or forfeited;
- whether recovered funds were released;
- whether any follow-up investigations occurred after his removal;
- why no terrorism-financing prosecution followed the arrests.
His public disclosures, he said, were motivated by the lack of institutional redress and the need to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
Implications for Counter-Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Oversight
The allegations and intelligence claims surrounding Operation Service Wide raise broader questions about:
- the integrity of national security investigations;
- the autonomy of financial intelligence agencies;
- the handling of terrorism-financing cases;
- transparency in high-profile investigations;
- the need for accountability mechanisms within security agencies.
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Analysts note that detailed allegations of this nature typically require formal government statements, independent inquiry, or judicial clarification to establish facts.
