A member of the gang suspected to have carried out the recent bombings in Abuja, in which many people were killed, Abdulwaheed Nasiru, has revealed how his Imam initiated him as a member of the Boko Haram sect.
Nasiru, who operates under the alias of ‘Haulaki’, was arraigned alongside others in court on Thursday.
Intelligence report gathered by the Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), a new squad created by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, to combat terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes, picked up the suspects, Abdulazeez Muhazab and Ishiaka Salihu.
They were picked up at a house at Karmajiri, behind Military Area off Airport Road, Abuja.
Explosives, detonators, chemicals in both liquid and powder form used in making bombs, were discovered.
After the arrest and subsequent interrogation of the two suspects, they fingered Nasiru and Abu Hamza as their leaders in Abuja.
Nasiru, a primary school drop out, from Kogi State. said: “I came to Abuja seven years ago to learn auto mechanic at the Games Village.
“I graduated four years before establishing my workshop at Galadimawa Roundabout. In 2013, I joined Boko Haram. There’s mosque along the road, before Total Filling Station, in Aiyoke Area of Okene, Kogi State. I rented an apartment very close to the mosque.
“One of the sons of the landlord of that house, Abubakar, was my friend. He was killed during an operation. Abubakar regularly visited that mosque. He was the person who introduced me to the Imam. The Imam is also the owner of the mosque. His name is Mustapha.”
“Mustapha is in the custody of security agents. Mustapha initiated me into the Boko Haram sect. He urged me through his teachings, after Jumat, Saturdays and Sundays prayers, to be faithful to God.
“He said I should do Allah’s wishes. I should oppose those going against the teachings of Prophet Mohammed.
“Mustapha used to urge us to support the cause of Jihad in the North-Eastern part of the country in any way we could. He said if we could not donate money to the cause or volunteer to be part of the group, we should pray for those waging the war.
“In some of the teachings of my Imam, he told us that western education was a sin and working for the government was also a sin. He asked those who had gone through secondary and university education to destroy their certificates.”
A police source said disclosed that the arrest of the suspects had since thrown other members of the sect at Igbira in Okene area of Kogi State, into panic.
The source further said: “Several members of the sect based in Abuja are returning to Okene. Some of the suspects were arrested, while others had been forced to relocate to neighbouring states.”
“During interrogations, Nasiru mentioned the addresses of three houses in Abuja and Suleija, Niger State, where the sect used to produce and store explosives”, he added.
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