Jerry Gana denies any link with Boko Haram late founder, Yusuf; berates Muslim group

Professor Jerry Gana has denied having bailed or having any link with Boko Haram founder, Late Mohammed Yusuf.

In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Adakole Ijogi, titled Professor Jerry Gana Never Bailed, Never Associated,And Never Had Links with Late Mohammed Yusuf, the former Minister of Information said:

Our attention has again been drawn to the regurgitation of a mischievous, misleading, and malicious falsehood by some desperate and conscienceless persons, who routinely circulate the vicious fabrication that Professor Jerry Gana was associated with, had links, and bailed the late leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf.

As resolutely and firmly refuted over a decade ago when this malicious falsehood first appeared, we wish to definitely state that Prof Jerry Gana never bailed nor had any links with late Mohammmed Yusuf. Evidence available in the public domain, clearly shows that the late Mohammed Yusuf was granted bail in an open court that sat in Abuja in 2008/2009, where one Ahmed Ibrahim Suleiman, then an Officer in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, stood surety for Mohammed Yusuf as contained in the attached bail document. The said document reveals the identification, state of origin, residential address in Abuja, status in the federal civil service, and even his letters of appointment and promotion. Therefore, Prof Jerry Gana was never part of the process and obviously could not have bailed Mohammed Yusuf.

It is therefore clear that this falsehood has never been substantiated and has already been unequivocally denied by Prof Jerry Gana each time it is peddled.

It is important to note that this same falsehood was first published in 2009 about the time Prof Gana was deeply involved with other statesmen and women, in the effort to facilitate a smooth transition that led to the emergence of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as President in 2010. It reappeared in 2014 when Prof Gana was engaged in the process of 2015 presidential election; published again in 2019 when Prof Gana was participating in the presidential election, and now in 2021, at the news of his recent return to PDP. With this trend, the intentions of the perpetrators and their sponsors are no longer hidden.

Keen eyes would observe that those behind this periodic and wicked narrative have fought unsuccessfully to use this mischievous fabrication to cast a shadow of doubt on the integrity of Prof Gana and thereby assassinating his hard earned reputation as an accomplished and upright statesman.

We are surprised that a highly placed organization like the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) would allow itself to be associated with such unverified and totally untrue insinuations.

To illustrate a total disregard for the truth, the perpetrators went on to say that Prof Gana was Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a position he has never been privileged to occupy.

Since the perpetrators are bent on deliberately destroying the character of Prof Gana, he has briefed his lawyers to commence legal proceedings against all the individuals, organisations and media platforms involved in circulating this despicable falsehood.

We wish to take this opportunity to thank the general public for consistently standing with the truth all these years.