"How Federal Govt’s Mistake Birthed Boko Haram", Ex-IG Mike Okiro Explains
- Former IGP Mike Okiro said the Police Anti-Terrorist Squad he created in 2007 was shut down shortly after he retired in July 2009
- Okiro revealed he personally monitored Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf before the group launched its first attack in Maiduguri in August 2009
- The ex-police chief said tribalism and religious suspicion forced him to defend the squad publicly and cost it government funding and state support
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Sir Mike Mbama Okiro has said that the disbandment of an anti-terrorism unit he established during his tenure directly opened the door for the Boko Haram insurgency to take hold in Nigeria.
He argued that a series of decisions made after his retirement left the country defenceless against a threat he had already identified and begun to counter.
Okiro, who served as IGP from June 1, 2007 to July 24, 2009, made the claim during an interview with Sunday Sun.
How anti-terrorist squad came about
Within months of his appointment, Okiro said he had created the Police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and sent its members for training in Israel, Egypt, Sudan, and South Africa, countries he chose because of their established experience dealing with terrorism.
He also set up an ATS Training School in Rivers State to cut the cost of sending officers abroad.
However, the squad drew fierce public opposition.
Two newspapers published editorials questioning its purpose, with critics alleging that Okiro had assembled the unit to target members of a specific religion under the guise of counter-terrorism.
The controversy forced the former IGP to hold a press conference defending the initiative.
"I explained that what I created was for all Nigerians and not for a particular religion or ethnic group because if a bomb is thrown anywhere, anyone within the killing radius of that bomb — whether he's a Christian, Muslim, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba — will be killed."
The backlash had practical consequences
The government withheld approval for the budget lines that would have provided the ATS with communications equipment and vehicles.
When Okiro deployed units to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Maiduguri, some state governors asked him to pull the officers out of their states, and he complied.
Boko Haram struck weeks after retirement
Okiro retired on July 24, 2009. Boko Haram launched its first major attack in Maiduguri in August of the same year, killing its founder Mohammed Yusuf in the process.
The group has since spread across Nigeria and into the Lake Chad Basin.
The former IGP said he had been monitoring Yusuf before leaving office.
"I monitored him from Yobe to Maiduguri. I arrested him a couple of times. If the government had taken action then, the story would have been different."
Okiro was direct about where he places the blame. "Boko Haram couldn't have really happened if the government hadn't stopped what I started."
"If the government had insisted on the ATS and equipped it, the story would have been different today. It is late now. They have spread all over Nigeria."
He also noted that the ATS Training School in Rivers State appears to no longer be operational, calling its closure "very unfortunate."
Boko Haram uses AI tools for attacks, operations
Recall that Boko Haram fighters are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools to support their operations, according to a new study cited by The New York Times on July 10, 2026.
Researchers found that insurgents used AI-powered chatbots to gain guidance on battlefield tactics, weapons upgrades and explosive devices.
Analysts warn that while AI may not revolutionise terrorism immediately, it could strengthen lower-level operatives and accelerate the spread of technical knowledge among extremist groups.
Boko Haram terrorists kidnap pastor’s wife, 3 children
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists stopped a commercial vehicle near Kareto village and forced a pastor's wife and her three children off the bus
The family, targeted because of their religious identity, were travelling to Damasak, where Pastor Moses Guguma leads a COCIN Church.
The abducted woman had been discharged from a Maiduguri hospital only days before the attack and was still recovering.
Source: Legit.ng
