Ex-CDS Irabor Drops Bombshell: “Politicians Are Funding Terrorism; But Nigerians Can’t Know Who”

By Our Reporter
Former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.), has admitted that some Nigerian politicians are financing terrorism but insists their identities will not be made public because the trials conducted during his tenure were “away from public consumption.”

Irabor made the revelation during a Channels Television interview on Monday, where he was questioned about rising attacks on Christian communities, the politicisation of insecurity, and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that “Christian genocide” is underway in Nigeria.

Addressing accusations that Christians were being deliberately targeted, Irabor said Nigeria’s turmoil is a “multi-layered monster” driven by ideological terrorists, religious extremists, political actors, and criminal groups seeking territorial dominance.

“Just as you have terrorists with an ideology, you also have those bent on targeting Christians. There are also those targeting communities to displace them for leverage,” he said. “And then you have economic criminals. They all operate for different reasons. Lumping it together under one theory is wrong.”

He warned that while some people frame every attack as political and others insist it is religious, both perspectives oversimplify a conflict far more complex than any single narrative.

Irabor also confirmed that politicians are indeed exploiting insecurity. “Some politicians have taken advantage of poor governance and insecurity to gain leverage, to create impressions they can do better, or even instigate crises,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean everything is political, or that all politicians are involved.”

Pressed on why the government has refused to reveal the identities of terror financiers, Irabor said trials did occur but “It’s not for public consumption,” declining to say whether any convictions were secured.

He urged Nigerians to trust national security officials: “Not everybody in government is a criminal or a liar.”

Responding to Trump’s claim that Nigerian Christians are facing “genocide,” Irabor said external actors oversimplify the conflict. “Saying everything is genocide is oversimplification,” he stated.