In the video clip, shot in April 2013 during a visit he made to Borno state, Mr. Jonathan was heard describing Mr. Sheriff, who was then a member of the opposition All Progressives Congress [APC] as a "friend" of Mohammed Yusuf, the man who founded and led Boko Haram for years.
Mr. Yusuf died while in the custody of the Nigeria Police after he and a number of his followers were arrested following a bloody clash between the sect members and law enforcement.
During his visit to Borno that April 2013 to persuade Borno leaders and residents to accept a heightened military presence in the state until the insurgency is checked, Mr. Jonathan suggested that Boko Haram evolved, blossomed and took up arms against the Nigerian state during Mr. Sheriff's reign as governor of the troubled North-East state.,
As commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Jonathan regularly has access to a multiplicity of security reports, and many believed he spoke from a position of knowledge at the time.
The video features the president, dressed in agbada and a cap, and clutching two microphones in his left hand while he addressed his audience, trying to defend the militarization of Borno and other states in the northeast region.
In his speech, Mr. Jonathan argued that the militarization of the region began after the crises that trailed the murder of the Boko Haram founder.
For a moment, the president could not remember the name of the slain Boko Haram leader and he called on the audience for help.
"Ehn ehn, what is the name of ehn ehn Governor Sheriff's friend?" the president asked.
The audience clapped and laughed. Some echoed Yusuf!
"When Yusuf was killed, that was the beginning of the crisis... " the president continued his speech.
Mr. Yusuf was the founder of the Boko Haram sect. His extrajudicial murder in 2009 marked the beginning of the deadly insurgency that is now threatening the entire northeast region of Nigeria.
Full transcript of President Jonathan's speech:
... Bunkers in Maiduguri or Borno state. Why should the bunkers come? Who wants to send bunkers to Borno state. There are too many APCs (armoured personnel carriers). Why should there be APCs in Borno state? Who wants to send APcs to Borno state? We are talking about soldiers.
There are some people even saying JTF should go. Who wants to spend money paying allowances of soldiers for God-sake. We need money for development.
If the circumstances that brought the soldiers are no longer there, that day, they will all leave. [Audience - clap clap clap]
They were not in Borno state in 2001, 2002, 2003, up to 2009. Probably that is when ehnn this man was killed, and that was the beginning of crises.
Ehn ehn, what is the name of ehn ehn governor Sheriff's friend? [Audience clapped, laughed and echoed Yusuf].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBfdhzYaABA
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