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Fact Check: Boko Haram: APC Offers Abubakar Shekau 2023 Vice Presidential Ticket?

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A twitter handle identified with username @AustinNwabufo and profile name Austin Nwabufo has claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is offering Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau its Vice Presidential slot for 2023.

The twitter handle made the claim in a tweet on July 25th, where he also promised to reveal more details later.

Naija News reports that Shekau is the factional leader of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria. The group has been responsible for various attacks on different states and communities majorly in the North-East of the country for about 10 years.

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Only a few weeks ago, the sect murdered 5 aid workers in Borno State, and President Muhammadu Buhari in his reaction, vowed that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

The Twitter user claimed the APC is offering Shekau the 2023 Vice Presidential slot as a way to end insurgency in Nigeria.

The tweet reads “APC luring Abubakar SHEKAU with Vice Presidential Ticket as an inducement to end Boko-Haram War, details coming up later in the day, Keep tuned.”

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See the screenshot below:

When contacted by the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Mamman Muhammed, a spokesperson for the Chairman of APC National Caretaker Committee, Mai Bala Buni, said: “I am not in for this junk”. He ended the call and did not pick subsequent calls.

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According to Murtala Abdullahi, a journalist covering the security beat, Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which prevents its members from taking part in any political or social activity associated with the western society, hence, it is highly unlikely for him to consider any such offering.

Naija News also reports that Shekau based on previous messages is not interested in Nigeria, but wants to wage a religious war against the country and establish his own ‘Caliphate’ based on his own version of Islam.

Abdullahi said “Shekau does not believe in a democratic system and as a terrorist, he has been declared wanted by the Nigerian government and the US government. So, there’s no how, I mean totally impossible for one to think or fabricate something like this.”

Timothy Avele, the Director-General of International Center for Non-verbal intelligence studies (ICNIS) also added that “the claim from the lawyer is weak and can not be true.”

Meanwhile, the Boko Haram leader, Shekau is also an internationally wanted terrorist that the United States government has placed a $7m bounty on his head while the Nigerian government has also placed a N3m bounty on his head and has deployed soldiers and other security operatives to the North East to bring an end to the activities of the terrorists.

This situation makes it totally unrealistic for the Nigerian government to enter into such negotiations with him as such a government can never receive legitimacy.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the claim by the Twitter user is only propaganda and an attempt to discredit the APC and his claims disregarded as false.