Buratai Sues Ex-Army General Over Terrorism Funding Allegations

Former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has filed a ₦1 billion defamation suit against Danjuma Ali-Keffi, a retired major-general and former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Nigerian Army’s 1 Division.
The suit, instituted on Thursday before the Kaduna State High Court, arises from statements allegedly made by Ali-Keffi and circulated on online media platforms, accusing Buratai of funding terrorism, maintaining links with Boko Haram suspects, and unlawfully releasing and shielding terror suspects.
In the originating processes filed by his lawyers, A. I. Aliyu and A. M. Hassan of Law Plus Consult, Buratai asked the court to declare that the publications — which appeared on Sahara Reporters and were further amplified across several news and social media platforms — are false, malicious, defamatory, and damaging to his reputation.
Buratai contended that the allegations have caused grave injury to his personal integrity, professional standing, and public image, particularly given his years of service as Nigeria’s army chief during a critical period of counter-insurgency operations.
The former army chief is seeking ₦1 billion in damages, a public retraction of the alleged defamatory statements, and a formal apology to be published prominently across the same platforms where the allegations were circulated.
As of the time of filing this report, Danjuma Ali-Keffi has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.