Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has strongly denied allegations made by activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, who accused him of funding Boko Haram “repentees” while running a secret torture chamber for detained protesters.
Sowore, the African Action Congress presidential candidate in the 2023 election, alleged in a series of social media posts that Zulum was operating a detention facility in Maiduguri called “The Crack FC.” He claimed that #EndBadGovernance protesters, including minors, were unlawfully held there for over a year.
“The heartless Governor of Borno, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, maintains a torture chamber with his security outfit ‘The Crack FC’ in Maiduguri, that’s where he kept his #EndBadGovernance victims for more than a year! WICKED!” Sowore wrote.
In another post, he accused Zulum of spending billions of naira on Boko Haram “repentees” while jailing young citizens who demanded accountability.
“This is not only unlawful but shameful. While Zulum allocates billions of naira to Boko Haram ‘repentees,’ he criminalises and imprisons young citizens whose only ‘crime’ is demanding accountability and good governance,” Sowore alleged.
Governor’s Office Dismisses Allegations
Reacting on Saturday, Abdulrahman Bundi, Zulum’s Senior Technical Assistant on Print and Digital Communications, dismissed the claims as “baseless” and “misleading.”
“To be sincere with you, these are just pure imaginations of Sowore. There is nothing like that existing. It is baseless misinformation to say the governor ordered people to be held for a year. What does the governor have to do with the #EndBadGovernance protest? It is not even a state government affair—the protest is against the federal government,” Bundi told Weekend Punch.
On the allegations of billions being allocated to rehabilitate Boko Haram members, Bundi clarified that the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DRR) programme is a multi-stakeholder initiative, not a Zulum-led project.
“Let us be clear: the DRR is not just about Boko Haram terrorists. It is a multi-stakeholder approach to resolving the crisis in Borno. It is about bringing peace, rehabilitating those who were overrun, forcefully abducted, or engaged by Boko Haram. In fact, it focuses more on the victims of the crisis,” Bundi explained.
He further urged Nigerians to read the DRR policy document online before drawing conclusions.
“The DRR document is public. People should access it online, read it, and understand what it contains. You don’t have to sit down and castigate something you don’t even know,” he added.