Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State has expressed deep concern over reports linking him or his administration to the arrest of a Geidam-based businessman, Alhaji Wakil Goni (also known as Mai Salati), by the Nigerian Army over allegations of terrorism logistics support and collaboration.
Speaking in Damaturu on Thursday shortly after swearing in two commissioners and 17 newly elected local government council chairmen, Governor Buni said he was unaware of the matter until soldiers from Sector 2, Maiduguri, carried out the arrest.
He clarified that the arrest of Mai Salati had nothing to do with the businessman’s political party affiliation, as some quarters had suggested. Rather, it was a matter strictly between Mai Salati and the Nigerian Army.
“It is not even in my character to order the arrest of anybody simply because we have different political views. I have never done such in my life. The Commissioner of Police, Yobe Command, can attest to this,” Buni said.
“Even in situations where some people ordered the arrest of persons with divergent political views without consulting me, I have always directed their immediate release. I have learnt to be tolerant in politics,” he added.
The governor revealed that he made frantic efforts to resolve the matter amicably before being made to understand that the case was beyond his intervention, as investigations had to be carried out to establish the culpability or otherwise of the individual concerned.
Mai Salati, a prominent member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was arrested recently by troops of Operation Hadin Kai after they allegedly accused him of providing logistics support and collaborating with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) elements.
