Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai (retd.), has filed a N1 billion defamation lawsuit against retired Maj. Gen. Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi, following allegations linking the former army chief to terrorism financing.
The suit, filed on January 8, 2026, at the Kaduna State High Court, centers on claims that Ali-Keffi orchestrated a “malicious and injurious” campaign to tarnish Buratai’s reputation. The legal action follows several interviews granted by Ali-Keffi in 2025, which were widely circulated on social media platforms and news outlets, including *Sahara Reporters.
In the writ of summons filed by Buratai’s legal team—A.I. Aliyu and A.M. Hassan of Law Plus Consult—the plaintiff alleges that Ali-Keffi falsely linked him to Boko Haram financiers and the illegal concealment of terror suspects during his tenure as COAS.
Buratai contends that these statements are “entirely false,” noting that he has never been investigated, indicted, or convicted of any terrorism-related offenses. The lawsuit argues that the publications have caused grave injury to his local and international standing, portraying him as “unpatriotic and complicit” in national security threats.
The plaintiff is seeking the following reliefs from the court:
Damages:N1 billion for libel and injury to reputation.
Retraction An unreserved public apology to be published with equal prominence in national newspapers and on all platforms where the defamatory statements were shared.
Injunction: A perpetual restraining order preventing the defendant from further publishing defamatory statements against him.
Buratai further alleged that the defendant acted recklessly, noting that Ali-Keffi reportedly admitted in the same interviews that no formal investigation had established Buratai’s involvement in the alleged crimes.
The court has given Ali-Keffi 21 days to enter an appearance. As of press time, a hearing date has yet to be scheduled, and the defendant has not filed a formal response.
