Mamudo school massacre: Grieving parents await mastermind`s fate

Last week’s arrest of Mudaisiru Jibrin, the suspected mastermind of the massacre of 42 students and a teacher at the Government Secondary School, Mamudo, Yobe State in 2013, has opened an old wound among parents and relatives of the victims. They urged the government not to waste time in prosecuting the suspect to serve as […]

Last week’s arrest of Mudaisiru Jibrin, the suspected mastermind of the massacre of 42 students and a teacher at the Government Secondary School, Mamudo, Yobe State in 2013, has opened an old wound among parents and relatives of the victims.
They urged the government not to waste time in prosecuting the suspect to serve as a deterrent to other terrorists.
The Department of State Services (DSS) said it had arrested Jibrin and 22 other suspected terrorists between July and August this year. The spiritual leader of the Boko Haram sect was arrested at Sauna Quarters, Kano on July 17. 
Three years ago, suspected Boko Haram insurgents violently broke into the school on a Sunday, about 3:45am, and unleashed terror on the students. Parents and the entire community are yet to recover from the shock.
Accounts of the incident by survivors revealed that the attackers gathered the students into one dormitory and opened fire on them. Those who tried to flee were also killed.
Our reporter, who visited the school, also spoke with some parents of the slain students. 
Malam Saleh Audu, the father of a 14-year-old Audu Saleh, one of the victims of the attack, said the arrest of the suspected mastermind had reminded him of his frustration as he received the disfigured body of his son.
“The news reminds me of the shock I got when I saw my son`s corpse. Arresting the mastermind is a good sign that God is by our side and government is serious this time around. We will not regain the lives of our children, but their lives will not be in vain. Our prayer is that government should punish them accordingly so as to deter others from committing similar offences,” he said
Another parent, Musa Ahmadu Gadaka, who spoke to our correspondent on phone, commended the effort of security operatives on the arrest of the suspected mastermind of the attack, saying the development has cleared parents’ suspicion that government had a hand in the crisis
“Many of us were indifferent about the arrest; they had already killed our children. It will even be more painful for me to see that man. No punishment could be served on him in this world that would worth the blood of our innocent children. Only God knows what he would do with these people. We just want justice,” he said.
Gadaka noted that the arrest would give more hope for parents to take their children to boarding schools without any fear.
When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the school on July 7, 2013, it was in a terrible mess. But our reporter observed that it now wears a new look. All the buildings have been renovated and a parameter fence erected. 
Malam Salisu Maigadi, a guard in the school, who overheard the terrorists planning the attack, said that with the arrest of the suspected mastermind, he had overcome the remaining fear of what he witnessed that fateful night.
“I hid in the staff room for a while but later got scared when the shooting started. I met some wounded students at the football field. But we couldn’t return that night because gunshots were all over the staff quarters and the school area.
“However, we summoned courage and entered the school in the morning. Dead bodies were all over the place. Some were burnt beyond recognition while others had bullet wounds. The trauma of that period still lives with me. I couldn’t sleep for a very long time. The news of the arrest of the culprit has now given us confidence to sleep with our two eyes closed,’’ he said.
The school messenger, Ibrahim Salisu Jega, who lost an elder brother in the attack, said the arrest of the suspected mastermind was a source of courage to both members of staff and students of the school.
“Before the dastardly attack, we had over 1,000 students, but when the school reopened recently, less than 30 students reported. And they didn’t sleep in the dormitory until few days to holidays. But with this development, people have started celebrating. Many students who left the school are preparing to return,” he said
Amina Nuhu, who lost her husband to the insurgents, said they should repent and seek forgiveness from the affected parents before it is too late.
“I knelt before the killers, pleading with them to spare my husband, but they ignored my plea and shot him three times on the chest. He died on the spot. But we are all human, we can make mistakes. They should repent if they have time and the opportunity to do that.
“I always remember my husband, especially in a difficult financial situation like this. Food is very expensive. I have nine children under my care and I battle very hard to feed them and pay their school fees. Life has not been easy for me,” she said.