Soldiers Disarm Suicide Bomber, Free 249 Boko Haram Suspects

Soldiers Disarm Suicide Bomber, Free 249 Boko Haram Suspects

By Abdulkareem Haruna

A suspected suicide Bomber who was primed to carry out an attack on innocent citizens using an explosive device concealed in an electronic stabilizer compartment was disarmed by vigilant troops in a suburb of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

The suspect, who gave his name as Yusuf Tasiu, had confessed that he was on a mission at the instance of his other members to carry out an attack on the members of the community where he was intercepted.

This cheery prevention of what could have turned out to be another disaster occurred at a time when many families within and around the state were rejoicing over the recent release of their relatives who were arrested and detained by the Nigerian military as suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

Army Spokesman, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said in a statement  that "troops of 101 Battalion, 7 Division Garrison on foot patrol along with some elements of Civilian JTF, intercepted a suspected male suicide bomber at Sabon Gari Jidari".

"The suspect carrying primed Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) concealed in a blue stabilizer casing gave his name as Yusuf Tasiu.

He was dispossessed of the explosives while the Nigeria Police Explosive Ordnance Devices expert safely detonated it. The suicide bomber is currently being interrogated", he said.

Colonel Usman, an acting Director Army Public Relations, added that, in a similar occurrence, some Vigilante group operating at Njidari village, SouthEast of Damboa, had conducted clearance operations against suspected Boko Haram terrorists hideout close to Ngwalimeri village, east of Bale in Borno State.

"The vigilante destroyed the camp and recovered 1 AK-47 rifle with registration number 565203224 with locally fabricated 5 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunitions and a pair of military uniform. The leader of the vigilante handed over same to the Headquarters of 25 Task Force Brigade in Damboa", he said.

Yesterday, the Army headquarters had announced that a total of 249 persons have been cleared of being suspected Boko Haram members and freed to reunite with their families, after an approval by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.

The cleared suspects were on Sunday handed over to the Borno state government by the acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division Nigeria Army, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu.

According to Colonel Usman, "those cleared and released include 169 males, 46 women and 34 children".

"Further breakdown shows that 203 of them were from 18 Local Government Areas of Borno State, while 44 were from other States as follows; Adamawa 2, Jigawa 2, Lagos 1, Oyo 1 and Yobe 38. However, 2 of them were from the Republic of Cameroon.

He said two of the foreigners were however handed over to the Borno State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service for onward delivery to the Cameroonian authorities.

The statement said the Borno state Commissioner for Local Government, Alhaji Usman Zanna, advised the released detainees "to remain law abiding and go about their lawful businesses. He also commended the effort of the military in the fight against terrorism and insurgency and respect for human rights as manifested in the painstaking efforts that led to their clearance and subsequent release.

Each of the cleared Boko Haram suspects was given a token of N3,000 each for transport back to their homes after they must have undertaken some documentation with the government officials.