MAIDUGURI — A massive security scandal is rocking the North East after a former captive of the proscribed Boko Haram sect emerged from the shadows with explosive claims that the International Red Cross has been acting as a “grocer” for terrorists deep inside the Sambisa Forest.
The survivor, who spent a harrowing stint as a hostage within the insurgent high command, provided a chilling eyewitness account that has set the nation on edge. In a viral testimony that has triggered a firestorm on social media, the man alleged that while he was held in the belly of the forest, he personally witnessed Red Cross operatives delivering food supplies directly into the hands of the terrorists.
“The Red Cross comes to deliver food to them in Sambisa forest,” the escapee claimed, describing a well-oiled logistics chain that kept the killers fed and energized while the Nigerian military spent billions and sacrificed lives to flush them out.
These allegations have reignited a long-standing and bitter feud between Nigerian security forces and international NGOs. For years, the military has looked at aid groups with deep suspicion, at times labeling them persona non grata for allegedly providing food and medical “neutrality” to the enemy. This latest account, however, suggests a level of direct coordination that many Nigerians are calling “treasonous.”
While the Red Cross has historically hidden behind the shield of humanitarian neutrality—arguing they must reach the suffering on all sides of a conflict—critics are now demanding a full-scale audit of all aid flight and transit logs. The “Sambisa Supply” scandal is rapidly turning into a major diplomatic headache for Abuja, as calls grow to shut down any agency found feeding the very insurgency they are supposed to be helping to mitigate.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is yet to issue a formal rebuttal to these specific “food run” claims, but the heat is already on for a total lockdown of NGO movements in the Borno axis.
