Gen. Lucky Irabor: Boko Haram Exploited Religion to Justify Killings and Chaos

Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (rtd), has revealed that Boko Haram used religion as a façade to commit widespread killings, abductions, and destruction across Nigeria. He described the sect as “purveyors of anguish and torment” whose actions were rooted not in faith but in cruelty and chaos.

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

He disclosed that Boko Haram deliberately coordinated the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls with the Nyanya Bus Station bombing in Abuja, which killed 88 people, to maximize global 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 detailed the sect’s brutality, citing prison breaks, suicide bombings, assassinations, and attacks on schools and infrastructure as examples of its “unbridled savagery and inhumanity.”

He recalled major attacks between 2010 and 2014, including the bombing of the Nigeria Police Headquarters, the United Nations building in Abuja, and the massacre of 59 students at Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, which he described as part of Boko Haram’s campaign to destroy Western education.

Irabor also spoke about his personal involvement in the rescue of some Chibok girls during his tenure as Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, dismissing claims that the abduction was staged. He affirmed that he “witnessed the aftermath firsthand” and supervised the recovery of several victims.

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

He further revealed that Boko Haram’s campaign extended to destroying key infrastructure—bridges, roads, electricity lines, and schools—across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States.

“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,” he wrote.

Irabor concluded by urging Nigerians and the international community to learn from the tragedy, warning against the manipulation of religion for violent ends.

“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 said.

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