Senator Orji Uzor Kalu claimed during a Senate session in Abuja that some politicians are using Boko Haram as a tool to destabilize President Tinubu’s administration. Kalu, a former Abia Governor, alleged that unnamed elites fund insurgents to sustain insecurity, undermining Tinubu’s reforms, which include $24 billion in oil investments.
He cited 2025 attacks, like the Giwa Barracks fire in Borno, killing 20, as politically motivated, noting Boko Haram’s 10% resurgence after a 2024 decline. Kalu urged the arrest of 100 suspected sponsors, claiming 70% are linked to opposition figures, though he provided no evidence.
The claim sparked controversy, with 60% of senators demanding a probe, while PDP’s Enyinnaya Abaribe called it a distraction from Tinubu’s 40% inflation crisis. Nigeria’s 10,000 insurgency deaths since 2020 and 2 million displaced highlight the stakes, as Boko Haram’s 1,500 attacks in 2024 targeted military outposts.
Tinubu’s $200 million 2025 security budget and 1,000 new troops aim to curb violence, but Kalu’s remarks risk polarizing the North-East, where 55% of voters backed Tinubu in 2023. Social media debates, with 65% rejecting Kalu’s narrative, reflect public skepticism, as 1,000 unresolved corruption cases fuel distrust. The Senate plans a security summit by July 2025 to address funding claims, as Nigeria’s $500 billion debt complicates anti-terror efforts.