The allegations against General Ibrahim Babangida were made by Sheik Sani Haliru, a Boko Haram jihadist who is currently in the Niger Republic, in an interview that was posted on the social media.
He claims, among other things, that he had renounced violence and that he was only a foot soldier for Gen Babangida whom he says was a major sponsor of Boko Haram.
In a swift reaction, the former president dismissed Sheik Sani's claims as "the effusions of a deluded mind", blaming it on unnamed agents of President Goodluck Jonathan's government.
A statement issued by Gen Babangida's spokesman, Kassim Afegbua, reads: "We have every cause to believe that the interview was carefully scripted to convey the message intended and not one conducted under a question-and-answer basis.
On more than one occasion, the State Security Service (SSS) has admitted in public statements knowledge of involvement of "prominent Nigerians" in the violence that has come to pose serious threats to national security.
The security arm, however, always balked at revealing the names. In the wake of arrests and rigorous interrogations of over 30 key members of the sect, the SSS is already hinting at shocking and substantial information gathered by forensic experts from "revealing call logs".
Whatever the SSS had to reveal to beleaguered Nigerians, the security apparatus appeared to have been beaten to it by Sheik Haliru, who is currently on the run.