Boko Haram used religion to justify mass killings, destruction – Gen. Irabor

..Says Chibok Abduction, Nyanya Bombing Were Synchronized to Gain Global Attention

…Warns: Their Cruelty Must Remain a Lesson for Nigeria’s Future

By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja

Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (rtd), has revealed that the Boko Haram terrorist group used religion as a cover to perpetrate killings, abductions, and destruction across Nigeria. He described the sect as “purveyors of anguish and torment” whose actions had no connection with faith but were driven by cruelty and a thirst for chaos.

Irabor, in Chapter 7 of his new book “SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum” launched in Abuja, recounted the group’s atrocities, noting that Boko Haram “hid under the cloak of religious puritanism” to unleash unimaginable suffering.

He further disclosed that the insurgents deliberately synchronized the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls with the deadly bombing of the Nyanya Bus Station in Abuja, which killed 88 people, to gain worldwide attention.

“The abduction of the Chibok girls came on the same day as the Nyanya Bus Station bomb blast. Boko Haram synchronized it while the attention of government agencies was focused on salvaging the aftermath of the Nyanya attack,” Irabor wrote.

The retired general said Boko Haram’s brutality — from prison breaks to suicide bombings, assassinations, and attacks on schools and infrastructure — showed the group’s “unbridled savagery and inhumanity.”

He cited several major attacks between 2010 and 2014, including the bombing of the Nigeria Police Headquarters and the United Nations building in Abuja, as well as the massacre of 59 students at Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, which he described as an attempt to destroy Western education.

Irabor also recounted his personal involvement in the rescue of some Chibok girls during his tenure as Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole. He dismissed claims that the abduction was fabricated, insisting that he “witnessed the aftermath firsthand” and supervised operations that led to the recovery of some victims.

On the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls’ abduction, Irabor confirmed that 104 girls were released after negotiations, while one student, Leah Sharibu, remains in captivity for refusing to renounce her faith.

The retired general said Boko Haram’s strategy extended beyond human suffering to the destruction of key infrastructure such as bridges, roads, electricity lines, and schools across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states.

He wrote: “The destructions were so monumental that one could not comprehend the objectives Boko Haram intended to serve if they achieved the caliphate which they projected. Their goal was to inflict harm and suffering on the populace.”

Irabor urged Nigerians and the international community to draw lasting lessons from the tragedy, warning that Boko Haram’s manipulation of religion for violence must never be allowed to resurface in any form.

“The understanding of Boko Haram as purveyors of anguish and torment under the cloak of religious puritanism should serve as a lesson for all in our future socio-cultural and socio-political interactions,” he concluded.

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