How groom-to-be was killed on wedding day
On the day of his wedding, Moduga Borisknen, 30, wore a cheerful look as well as beautifully embroidered traditional Kanuri attire. “I’ve never seen him so handsomely dressed. I think he felt that was his happiest day on earth,” a family source told Weekly Trust. “Then without warning, from an unidentified vehicle which was lurking […]
On the day of his wedding, Moduga Borisknen, 30, wore a cheerful look as well as beautifully embroidered traditional Kanuri attire. “I’ve never seen him so handsomely dressed. I think he felt that was his happiest day on earth,” a family source told Weekly Trust. “Then without warning, from an unidentified vehicle which was lurking around, gunmen sprang out, opened fire on the groom-to-be at close range. Another guest said after the pandemonium that ensued, a Joint Task Force (JTF) team arrived at the scene, trying to maintain calm. As the dust settled, it was discovered that stray bullets from the attackers’ guns had hit an unnamed guest and inflicted injuries on three other people who were immediately rushed to a hospital.
A few days after the incident, spokesman of the Boko Haram sect, Abul Qaqa, claimed that his group was responsible for the killing. “He was an informant that led to the arrest of many of our members,” Qaqa said, adding that they are targeting nine others who had worked with Moduga. Weekly Trust was made to understand in the course investigation that before the death of Moduga, he was an “active and outspoken politician,” being a former Councilor of Shehuri North Ward within the Maiduguri metropolitan council. “He was a man who was known for speaking his mind on social and political issues including matters relating to the insecurity we face in Maiduguri,” said a source who wished to remain anonymous.
Efforts to speak with the bride-to-be, named simply as Yagana, were not fruitful, as her family members insist that she’s too shaken by the tragic events to comment. A friend of hers who spoke to Weekly Trust said young Yagana has not been able to eat since her would-be husband was killed.
At the Borisknen family residence, sitting down with folded legs, a senior member of the family, Musa Borisknen, was accepting condolences. Weekly Trust sought his comment. “Five months ago, Moduga’s younger brother Ali was silenced by assassins’ bullets for no just cause. We are yet to recover from that experience,” he said, adding: “And now with the death of Moduga last week. We’re scared and this is why we don’t want to talk to the press.”
Other associates of Moduga spoken to by Weekly Trust say his murder may not be unconnected to the late man’s disposition, which was manifest in his condemnation of any act of violence that was inflicted on innocent residents, especially those residing within his constituency. “Many of us wondered how [Moduga] would openly condemn the killing of innocent people in Maiduguri. Not many people have guts like that,” a source said.
JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Muhammed Hassan, said the groom-to-be and a guest died in the attacks as a result of the gunshot wounds they sustained. But despite the reassurances and commitment of the security forces to protect the lives and property of residents in Maiduguri, there is still the fear of the sect in the minds of people, making it a herculean task to extract responses even from those who had stories to tell. “With the spate of attacks continuing unabated and the thickening suspicion that envelopes our relationship with one another in Maiduguri, you can’t expect anybody to cooperate with the press, no matter how much concern you have for the well-being of the public,” a resident, told Weekly Trust, before slamming his door shut.