A former Director of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed, has made serious allegations against Vice President Kashim Shettima, claiming he has links to terrorism.
Speaking during a television interview on Arise TV, Naja’atu alleged that a notorious terrorist, Kabiru Sokoto, was once arrested in Shettima’s residence when he was Governor of Borno State.
She said her decision to leave active participation in the APC and its presidential campaign was driven by concerns over Nigeria’s political and security direction, adding that recent developments made it impossible for her to continue in party politics.
Responding to past accusations from the party, she also rejected claims that she was removed from the campaign team for being a mole.
Naja’atu further alleged that insecurity in Nigeria is driven by economic interests, especially illegal mining activities in parts of the North.
According to her, terrorism and banditry have become a “multi-billion dollar industry” linked to the exploitation of mineral resources such as gold in Zamfara and other strategic deposits across the North-East.
She claimed that powerful individuals, including political actors and foreign collaborators, are benefitting from illegal mining operations that displace local communities.
She added that insecurity is being sustained by interests tied to mining, drugs, and illicit trade, insisting that violence in affected regions is not random but economically motivated.
The former APC official also alleged that containers from overseas end up in mining regions where minerals are extracted and smuggled, further worsening the crisis.
She referenced previous statements by political figures who also suggested that competition over mineral resources contributes to insecurity in northern Nigeria.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and neither Vice President Kashim Shettima nor the APC has issued a detailed response at the time of reporting.
