How district head foiled attack by Boko Haram members

The suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have in recent in weeks, killed more than 12 persons including policemen, traditional rulers, a top politician in the state and a cleric. The recent incident was that of the killing of a police inspector, Kashim Bukar who was murdered in his home in Ummarari area of […]

The suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have in recent in weeks, killed more than 12 persons including policemen, traditional rulers, a top politician in the state and a cleric. The recent incident was that of the killing of a police inspector, Kashim Bukar who was murdered in his home in Ummarari area of Maiduguri.  The police inspector, Kanem Trust gathered from residents was trailed from a football viewing centre and was shot and killed at his house just as he opened the entrance door to his home. The former councellor’s name would have been added to the list of the victims of the armed men if not for the district head, his boys and other residents who joined in pursuing the suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.

Though the 21 Armoured Brigade Commander of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ibrahim Hassan Ndaliman, told newsmen last week that the suspect was apprehended last Sunday after a foiled attempt to kill the district head of Bolori, the district head told Kanem Trust that he was not the one the attempt was made on but a neighbour whom he identified as Kaka Bura, a former councillor in MMC. Ndaliman added that the man was caught with a cut-to-size AK47 rifle and 24 rounds of ammunition.

Ndalima said he received a call from the Shehu of Borno that the gunmen had invaded the house of the district head. “I personally went there and learnt that the suspect who identified himself as Abdullahi, was to shoot the traditional ruler. Interestingly, the district head immediately punched him and that was how the AK 47 rifle he carried was seized from him and he was arrested,” the Brigade Commander explained.

He said the army has commenced investigation on the operations of the gunmen who had been terrorizing the state since early July, adding that the sources of their weaponry would be discovered in the course of their investigations. He also assured that the security agencies in the state were making efforts to see that the lives and properties of the people were guaranteed.

The army boss who was also joined at the event by other security chiefs including the police and state security services (SSS), appealed to the people to be patient with the security agencies, noting that their efforts have started yielding results by the arrest  of the assailants.

The 32 year old suspect, Abdullahi, claimed to have been drafted from Lagos to prosecute the operation but military authorities urged journalists to discountenance his claim, saying that their investigations would shed light into his background and other related matters on the armed men.

Kanem Trust gathered that the assailants who were three in number, stormed the house of the former councillor in Bulabulin area of the metropolis with the aim of putting an end to his life.

The district head of the area, Alhaji Mala Mamman, told Kanem Trust that the armed men entered the house of the former councillor and pointed an AK 47 gun at him. He added that the councillor struggled with the man holding the gun till they struggled from the room to the main road.

“I was in my room around 8.30 to 9pm when I heard noise from outside and when I came outside, one of my boys told me that Kaka Bura has been attacked by some armed men. There were three of them and together with my boys, we went to help him. On getting there, Kaka had already collected the gun from one of the men holding the gun and the man ran away. My boy pursued him and arrested him while the other two escaped,” he narrated to Kanem Trust.

“I quickly called the Shehu of Borno who informed the Brigade Commander who came to my house with solders and took the suspect away with the AK 47 and 24 rounds of ammunition,” He added.

Our correspondent also gathered that the courage of the man propelled residents to confront the other assailants who fled for their lives leaving the apprehended assailant at the mercy of the people.