Wanted Boko Haram kingpin, Kabiru Abubakar Dikko Sokoto, was caught like a rat in a rack of clothes, in a remote Taraba State community of Mutum-Biu, where he had been hiding since his escape from the police on January 15, 2012.
Apparently not to be recognized, Sokoto, who is the prime suspect in the December 25, 2011 bomb blast in Madalla, Niger State, shaved his legendary heavy beard and grew more dark hairs on his head.
And, in place of his usual flowing white gown, he spotted a green T-shirt upon a pair of blue jeans trousers and a pair of bathroom slippers at the time of his capture by a combined team of military and State Security Service operatives.
Sokoto’s escape on January 15, 2012, led to the replacement of Hafiz Ringim, with Mohammed Abubakar, as the new inspector-general of Police and the arrest and trial of the Commissioner of police in charge of investigation at police headquarters in Abuja, Zakari Biu, and five other officers.
Parading Sokoto before journalists at the SSS headquarters in Abuja yesterday, the deputy director, public relations, Ms Marilyn Ogar, said the service and the military effected the arrest of the suspect at about 4:30am on February 10, 2012, at Mutum-Biu in Gassol LGA of Taraba State.
She said, “Kabiru Sokoto who has been linked with the Christmas Day bombing at Madalla, Niger State, was picked up from where he was hiding in the clothes rack, at the residence of an accomplice.
“On escape, he had taken refuge at Umaisha in Too LGA of Nasarawa State before he fled to Taraba State where he was eventually re-arrested.”
Ogar explained that Kabiru was instrumental in the visit of the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf, to Gagi village, Sokoto South LGA of Sokoto State, in February 2009, during which he was declared leader of the sect in Sokoto State.
LEADERSHIP checks revealed that Sokoto was arrested at the residence of a relative in Mutum Biu in Gassol LGA of Taraba State who reportedly threatened to use an axe on one of the security operatives.
The Boko Haram strongman’s arrest was said to have been made possible following a phone call he made from Nasarawa State to the sect’s spokesperson Abu Qaqa who is in the custody of the SSS.
He was said to have changed his GSM SIM card after he realised that Qaqa was in custody of the service contrary to the claim of the sect’s hierarchy. Unknown to him, operatives of the service were already on his trail as he fled to Taraba State where he was eventually arrested.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspect was arrested alongside three others believed to be members of the sect, including the relative in whose residence he was arrested.
“Sokoto was born on May 9, 1983, to the family of Umarau Jabbi of Gagi village, Sokoto South LGA of Sokoto State. Upon the death of his father, he was adopted by his paternal uncle Abubakar Dikko and renamed after him.”
The deputy director further explained: “He completed his primary education at Model Primary School, Gagi Town, in 1996. Although he enrolled for secondary education at the Ahmadu Bello Academy in 1996, he absconded shortly after and re-applied as a fresh JSS 1 student in Sultan Bello Secondary School, Sokoto South LGA, from where he eventually graduated in 2003.
“In 2005, he gained admission into the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Sokoto. At the school, Kabiru exhibited high level of truancy and extremist tendencies which accounted for his poor academic performance. In mid-2007, he absconded again from the institute when he refused to re-sit some paper he failed in examination.”
The spokesperson assured Nigerians of the collective resolve of security agencies to stamp out terror from the country, adding that they were poised to bring to an end the activities of a few unscrupulous elements and to also warn that the long arm of the law will always catch up with those who perpetrate evil.
“We hereby crave the maximum support and cooperation of all Nigerians as we strive to rid our society of terror. We are not terrorists. We are Nigerians,” she said.
While Sokoto’s arrest may have restored the confidence of Nigerians on the commitment of the security agencies to fight violent crimes, especially regarding the menace of Boko Haram; it has raised more doubts on the ability and credibility of the Nigeria Police.
It is not clear whether the police have paid the N50 million placed on the head of the wanted sect leader when he escaped from the police last month.
Meanwhile, in a reaction, the spokesperson for the Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani, has described the arrest of Sokoto as a good development.
“It shows our security and intellengence community are bracing up to the collective challenges of national security, which has been worsened by the activities of Boko Haram.
The development would certainly rekindle hope that the situation is not beyond redemption, given the will and patriotism of the people to check it,” Sani said.
4 killed in shootout between Boko Haram and soldiers
Four people including two soldiers were on Friday evening killed during bomb explosions and gunfire exchange between members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and the men of the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri.
Four people including two soldiers were on Friday evening killed during bomb explosions and gunfire exchange between members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and the men of the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri.
The bomb blasts, which shook the town, occurred at about 4pm near one of the popular markets in town, Gamboru Market.
Some residents of the area told newsmen that the people of the area had to scamper for safety on hearing the deafening bomb explosions, which made soldiers barricade the place and subsequently engaged members of the sect in a gun battle.
A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said there were casualties on both sides and the soldiers had to evacuate both the injured and corpses from the area.
He said they had to flee the area immediately the incident happened as the soldiers immediately moved into the area and exchanged gunfire with the sect members.
He also said they later got to see the JTF moving away some bodies in their van. “I personally saw two soldiers lying lifeless including two civilians who were apparently dead,” the source said.
He equally added that several other people with varying degrees of injury were also transported from the area by the soldiers who prevented movement to and from the place of the attack.
A reliable source at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) revealed that he saw some soldiers escorting two ambulances to the hospital and saw two soldiers with gunshot injuries.
He could not confirm whether those in the ambulances were dead.
In a hurriedly prepared press released signed by the spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, last night, he claimed that four members of the sect were killed.
In a hurriedly prepared press released signed by the spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, last night, he claimed that four members of the sect were killed.
He disclosed that though some of the men of the JTF had minor injuries none was killed.
In another development, two people were shot dead yesterday at a mechanic garage near Gidan Dambe, within the Maiduguri
In another development, two people were shot dead yesterday at a mechanic garage near Gidan Dambe, within the Maiduguri
One of the eyewitnesses, Malam Bashir Umar said “the two young boys appeared around 3pm and went straight to the shed where their victims were working and they shot them at close range and disappeared without trace”.
When contacted, the Borno police commissioner, Simeon Midenda, could not confirm the report to newsmen. He claimed to be away in Abuja on a meeting when asked.
SOURCE: Leadership Newspaper, 11 February 2012. http://www.leadership.ng/nga/
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