Christmas Day bombing:Kabiru Sokoto’s wife delivers baby in police cell

Wife of the alleged mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, Kabiru Abubakar Dikko, alias Kabiru Sokoto, has delivered a baby boy in a police cell where she is being detained. The wife of the Boko Haram henchman was arrested by the police after her husband escaped from police custody while he was being taken to his home for a search. 

Sources Friday said that she gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday inside a cell at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Garki, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Even after her husband was re-arrested at Mutum in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba, the pregnant woman was still kept in police custody until she put to bed on Wednesday. 

Sokoto was first arrested on 13 January by the police but he escaped two days later when he was being taken to his residence at Abaji in the FCT for a search. Sokoto was re-arrested in a joint military-SSS operation at a hideout at about 4:30 a.m. He had taken refuge at Umaisha in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State before he fled to Taraba where he was eventually re-arrested. 

 Spokesperson for the State Security Service, Ms Marilyn Ogar had told the media during the parade of Sokoto that the 29-year-old suspect was born to the family of Umaru Jabbi of Gagi village in Sokoto South Local Government Area on 9 May 1983. She explained that after the death of his father, the suspect’s uncle, Abubakar Dikko, adopted him and gave him his name. 

According to Ogar, the suspect, who completed his secondary education in 2003, was admitted to the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Sokoto, and described him as a “truant with extremist tendencies”. She said the suspect was declared a leader of the Boko Haram sect in Sokoto in February 2009. A N50 million bounty was placed on Sokoto for anyone that could provide information that could lead to his arrest after the police declared him wanted shortly after he escaped from custody.

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Senate report: Christmas day bomb suspect Kabiru Sokoto seen in Lagos

UNKNOWN to many, the suspected architect of the Christmas Day church bombing was in Lagos before his January 14 arrest and eventual escape. He was rearrested on February 10.

Kabiru Umar (alias Kabiru Sokoto), whose escape expedited former police chief Hafiz Ringim’s retirement, was seen on Snake Island, home of the ship repair company, Nigerdock, in Apapa, Lagos, according to a Senate Committee report.

The report of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs said: “Police intelligence revealed that prior to his arrest on 14th January, 2011, Kabiru Umar (alias Kabiru Sokoto) had been on the check list of Boko Haram sect members.

“Sokoto was reported to have been noticed within the vicinity of Snake Island, Lagos and left Lagos sometime on 13th December, 2011 and disappeared from surveillance monitoring, until 11th January, 2012. He was later traced to Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory.

“Police detectives traced him from Abaji to Abuja on the same date and further traced him to Asokoro-Abuja where he was finally apprehended at about 0240 hours (2.40am) on the 14th of January, 2012 at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge at Iro Dan Musa Street, Asokoro, Abuja.”

Senators yesterday gave a blow-by-blow account of how Umar escaped from police custody. Besides, they named his accomplices.

Umar dramatically escaped from police custody less than 24 hours after his arrest while being taken to his home in Abaji, a suburb of Abuja, for a search.

The Senate empanelled its Committee on Police Affairs to probe his escape.

The committee’s chairman, Senator Paulinus Nwagu, who presented the report, gave graphic details of how Umar disappeared.

His accomplices include the son of a traditional ruler, the Onah of Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and a man who was shot dead as he attempted to snatch a rifle from a policeman.

The report said:

“The mob action that effected the escape of the suspect was spearheaded by the under listed persons: Adamu Salihu (son of the Onah of Abaji land), Abdullahi Sidi, alias Bamanga (at large), Abdullahi Sahabi (at large), Jibrin Aliyu, alias Kaska and Ashafa Central (Inuwa) who was shot dead as he attempted to snatch a rifle from the police during the mob action.

“Further investigation has revealed that after the mob action, the said Abdullahi Sahabi, Jibrin Aliyu, Abdullahi Sidi and Adamu Salihu all conspired and moved the principal suspect from Abaji to a village called Nuku, about 7kilometres from Abaji and handed him over to one Dauda Mohammed, who provided the suspect with shelter and feeding in an uncompleted house.

“One Alhaji Haruna Kaura, a resident of Nuku village, took over the suspect and transported him on a motorcycle to his farmland located some kilometres from Nuku village.”

The committee interracted with the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Minister of Police Affairs, the Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector General of Police.

The report went on: “The arrest was conducted by a combined team of police officers and men, comprising operatives from the Force Analytical Tracking and Intelligence Centre as well as Combat Teams from the Police Mobile Force, totalling 58 officers and men.

“The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Commissioner of Police, Zakari Biu, who was in charge of handling terrorist cases, in charge of suspects and general follow-up, for further investigation.”

The report added: “Investigation activities of the police led detectives, comprising five officers to visit the residence of the suspect in Abaji to conduct a search on the 15th January, 2012.

“On arrival at the residence of the suspect at Bulletin Quarters, Abaji, the team met one Adamu Salihu, the son of the Onah of Abaji, the traditional ruler of Abaji in the FCT who was a neighbour of the suspect.

“The said Adamu Salihu, who was later discovered to be a close associate of Kabiru Sokoto as well as a suspected member of Boko Haram, suddenly went into his room, came out with a copy of the Holy Quran, cited Quranic quotes and with a loud shout of ‘Allahu-Akhbar (God is great)’, mobilised nearby youths who attacked the police with hard objects and forcibly took over the suspect whom they whisked away to an undisclosed location.

“Immediate efforts to recover the suspect indicated that the duo of one Jibrin Aliyu, alias Kaska and one Abdullahi Sidi, alias Bamanga, had informed one Mohammed Gambo that the principal suspect was with Jibrin Aliyu.

“The same Mohammed Gambo instantly requested Jibrin Aliyu to produce the suspect at the palace of the Onah of Abaji and thereafter informed the Onah of Abaji, who requested his police escort and the army personnel on stop-and-search duty on Abaji-Lokoja expressway to re-arrest and bring the suspect (Kabiru Sokoto) to his palace, but they could not find him.

“The security team then arrested Jibrin Aliyu and he is currently undergoing interrogation.

“Consequently, a team of police detectives travelled to Nuku village and the farmland in Gwaragwada, Yawti, in search of the suspect to no avail. The team, acting on information, also moved to a village called Achabo in Kogi State and to Toto, Gadabuike, Lokorgoma and Nasarawa Toto in Nasarawa State in search of the fleeing principal suspect.

“All those who aided and abetted his escape, apart from those at large, have been arrested and are assisting the police in its investigations.

“Commissioner of Police Zakari Biu has been suspended from the service of the Nigeria Police Force and he is under further investigation over his handling of the suspect.

“Commissioner of Police Zakari Biu in the year 2000 disappeared from the Police Service and alleged that the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said he did not want him in the Force. He later re-appeared again after about 10 years.

“When the committee probed further, the Chairman, Police Service Commission, told the committee that he recalled Commissioner of Police Zakari Biu because he was never suspended or queried by the Nigeria Police Force.

“That Zakari Biu was officially suspended by the Commission based on the fact that the Inspector General of Police reported the case of escaped suspect in his custody to allow full investigation.”

Of the seven recommendations by the committee, the Senate adopted two – that

*the public should give security agencies information; and that

*Biu and others involved in the escape of Kabiru Sokoto should have their prosecution expedited to serve as a deterrent to other security operatives.

The lawmakers rejected the recommendation that the Office of the Co-ordinator on Counter Terrorism established in the National Security Advisers’ Office be strengthened through a legislative act.

It also rejected the recommendation for the establishment of a joint border patrol to include Police, Armed Forces, Immigration Service, Customs Service, State Security Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to check the challenges of the country’s porous borders.

The recommendation that existing laws on terrorism should be strengthened such that offences under the Act should be made public was also rejected. Besides, the Senate disagreed that there should be special courts for terrorism cases.

The Upper Chamber also rejected the recommendation that the government should ensure special training for judges and prosecutors to handle terrorism offences.

The lawmakers almost dropped the report of the committee on the excuse that security agencies should be allowed to conclude their investigation.

But Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, insisted that some areas of the report should be considered.

Sings that the report might suffer a setback emerged early when no Senator wanted to second the motion for its consideration, until Ekweremadu virtually forced Senator Dahiru Kuta to do so.

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Madalla bomb blast: 7 parishioners go blind

Barely eight weeks after the last Christmas Day bombing by the Boko Haram sect at St Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, the Parish Priest, Most Reverend Father Isaac Achi, disclosed that seven out of the 83 injured parishioners have gone completely blind.

He made the disclosure on Monday when the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who led a team of senior managers of the bank, paid him a condolence visit and made a donation of N25 million to the church, victims and community members affected by the bomb blast.

According to the cleric, “Of the 127 victims, we lost 44, seven lost their sight, four are still on admission at Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, eight at the National Hospital, Abuja while others are receiving treatment in hospitals in Kano, Zaria, Lagos and Enugu.”

Achi, however, said some of those injured had been discharged from the various hospitals in Abuja, Suleja and Madalla after being treated and certified to be okay.

In his remark while announcing the apex bank’s donation, Sanusi said the action was in consonance with the Corporate Social responsibility approved by the board of the bank, which allowed the management of the bank to show sympathy to victims of any form of disaster.

According to him, “it is in the light of this that the Committee of Governors of the bank met to offer assistance to victims, their families, widows, orphans and others whose properties were damaged by the bomb blast. This is to show that we can all be our brothers keepers.

“We wish to announce the donation of N25million to the church and the community for the rehabilitation of our people.’’

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SSS Declares Another Madalla Bombing Suspect Wanted

The federal authorities today declared wanted in connection with the Madalla Christmas Day 2011 bombing, Habibu Bama.

A statement signed by Marilyn Ogar of the Department of State Services described Bama as an ex-soldier and a Kanuri from Bama, in Borno State.

Habibu Bama, however, travels by several aliases. She gave the names as:

• Habib BAMA;

• Shuaibu BAMA; and

• Habib MAMMAN.

Ms. Ogar urged members of the public who have any information about Mr. Bama that could lead to his arrest to contact the nearest Police Station, military formation or any other security agency immediately.

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Terrorist Who Killed 82 Christians On Christmas Day Escapes From Detention

A man arrested at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge over the deadly Madalla Christmas Day bombing escaped from police custody on Sunday while he was being conveyed to a location in Abaji area of Abuja, Daily Trust learnt yesterday.

Boko Haram suspect Kabiru Sokoto was arrested at the weekend during a police raid on the lodge, where he sneaked in through a friend who was given accommodation to stay overnight. He was said to be taken along with a Flight Lieutenant of the Nigerian Air Force to the Zone 7 Headquarters of the Police in Abuja.

Sources told Daily Trust yesterday that Kabiru was taken to Abaji on Sunday, where he is said to own a house, to allow police conduct search. But he escaped at about 5.30pm at Abaji.

Police went on a pursuit, firing shot and in the process a stray bullet hit and killed a 28-year-old man named Awwal Inuwa Ashafa, according to residents of the area.

Pandemonium ensued as people run for cover. Ashafa, who had an HND in Building Engineering from Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, was shot in the chest.

A witness said trouble started in the area when policemen from Abuja city brought Kabiru Sokoto in a Toyota Hilux van. A gang of youths flagged down the vehicle as it was heading for the Ona of Abaji’s Palace, creating a chaos during which the suspect escaped.

The police had earlier taken the suspect to a house he owned at Abaji to conduct search and were on their way to the traditional head’s palace when the youths saw him in handcuffs and then blocked the road, the witness said.

Kabiru seized the opportunity created by the youths and escaped. Meanwhile, the police fired shots in the air to disperse the youths, but one of the bullets hit a young man.

Our reporter, observed soldiers, riot police and men of the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad positioned at various junctions in Abaji, while a police armoured vehicle was also seen stationed in the town.

Abaji DPO, Superintendent Mathew Chukwkuma Okafor, was not available for comments. A senior police officer said four persons have been arrested over the incident.

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Chrismas Day explosions: Northern Islamic group replies CAN President

The influential Islamic group- Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI)- yesterday reacted angrily to the statement credited to the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, that Christians will henceforth defend themselves, saying that the CAN leader has, by his utterance, declared war on Nigerian Muslims.

But the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) disagreed with the JNI, arguing that those who have been bombing churches are the ones that have declared war on their fellow citizens.

The Secretary General of the Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, at a press conference in Kaduna where he spoke extensively on the letter presented by CAN to the President on the Madalla massacre, described the CAN President as "intolerant."

He said Pastor Oritsejafor's conduct was unbecoming of a religious leader.

The JNI scribe said: "He went right into the heart of Aso Rock Villa to threaten the government and to say whatever he had to say before the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He also accused the Muslim leadership, the religious scholars and other leaders within the Muslim community.

"He blamed the attack also on religious and traditional rulers whom he said are not publicly condemning this upsurge of bomb attacks. This statement is an unguarded utterance and is intended to incite and instigate Christians against Muslims in this country.

"In essence, the man has already called for war. He said that there is going to be a civil war in this country. It is very astonishing for such a person to say that Muslims have not condemned the act when more than two dozens of prominent Muslim scholars have condemned what happened at Madalla.

"Apart from that, the governor of Niger State and other traditional leaders have been there. The Sultan himself has declared that the attack was unIslamic and yet, he said that was unacceptable. We don't know whether he wants us to jump the gun and arrest faceless people whom the government has not been able to arrest and then kill them by shooting them.

"What he wants is for us to apply jungle justice on them. Do we have that legal authority to begin to chase people that we don't even know? Therefore, this statement is contempt on the Sultan of Sokoto who is the President General of Jama'atu Nasril Islam and Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.

It is also contempt on the Muslim clerics who have come to condemn these acts.

"Where were they when Muslims were attacked during the Eid-Fitr celebration that preceeded the month of Ramadan in Plateau State where Muslims were attacked, killed and maimed? Sixteen people were not only slaughtered, but roasted and eaten.

"Why is this thing looking like a conspiracy of silence from the media both local and foreign? Are Muslims animals? Are they not citizens of this country? Why is it always silence when something happened against the Muslims. Who reported the Southern Kaduna genocide?

"Are you telling me that there were no Muslims killed in the Madalla bomb blast? In Maiduguri and Damaturu, was it not the Muslims that were killed in their numbers? I think that the CAN President is an intolerant person and his statements are pregnant with very dangerous trends that are capable of telling Christians to attack Muslims.

"I think that his statement is even more dangerous than these acts and I think that the government should call him to order. The government should call him to order for going to Aso Rock and calling the government incompetent before the President. How can you say such things and say you want to pray?

"Oritsejafor has gone further to criticise Islam and called Islam all sorts of names and according to him, they are ready for war against Muslims. But Muslims are very tolerant people and we are calling on all Muslims to be calm and be law abiding and continue to be prayerful against this trend.

"We cannot be intimidated by these threats and intimidations. We are peaceful people, we respect the laws of the country and we cannot jump over the fence of government because they are charged with the full responsibility of providing security for the lives and property of the people.

"Therefore, we will not go beyond that. We will not attack anybody. It is very disheartening when the western media says that Nigeria will disintegrate by 2015. There may be an underground conspiracy to achieve that by creating chaos in the country.

"The Sultan has said it loud and clear that Muslims are not at war with Christians, but Oritsejafor says that Christians are at war with Muslims. As Muslims, we will not lower ourselves to such unruly attitude."

However, in a statement in Kaduna, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria said the Christmas day bombing at Madallah was shameful and a crime against God and humanity. It called for prayer and fasting by all Nigerians on December 31, 2011.

The Catholic Bishops in the statetment signed by Dr. Alaba Job, said by bombing churches, Boko Haram has apparently declared war on the nation and called on Muslim leaders in the country to take immediate steps to stop the movement.

They said: "The Boko Haram have claimed responsibility for this shameful crime against God and humanity. We use this opportunity to call on our peace-loving Muslims, especially their leaders from the political, economic, social and religious spectrums, not only to publicly denounce but for their own good and the good of Nigeria, to be proactive and to do everything positive to end this movement.

"This group has apparently declared war on Nigeria, and at times of war, nations count on their reserves. It is apparent that if we depend only on our available active security agents, we shall not make progress. I therefore call on Mr President to recall retired experts in criminology and employ foreign experts in this field to assist the active security agents to put an immediate end to Boko Haram menace.

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Two held on Nigeria bombing

AS NIGERIAN officials announced arrests in connection with the deadly bombing of a church on Christmas Day, US officials and analysts said the violence underscored the increasing ability of a shadowy Islamist insurgency to carry out complex strikes against multiple targets, complicating the fight against it. 

Nigeria's National Security Adviser, Owoeye Azazi, said two men had been arrested in connection with the bombing. 

They were suspected of being members of the Boko Haram sect, which claimed responsibility for attack. 

They were ''caught in the act'', he said. Mr Azazi said three suspects had driven past the church in Madala, on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, throwing a bomb into the church ''from a moving vehicle in the glare of everyone''. One of the men died in the explosion, he said.

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FG To Give Free Education To Children Of Bomb Victims

The Nigerian Minister of Interior Abba Moro Monday announced Federal Government’s free education plan for children who lost their parents in the Christmas blast at the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Suleja Local Government, Niger State. 

According to the minister, who made the promise when he paid a visit to the members of the church, said President Goodluck Jonathan was disturbed by the attack and promised that government had decided to sponsor injured victims for foreign treatment. 

Moro said government was disturbed by the incessant bombing in some states, assuring the nation that government was working tirelessly toward ensuring that security was improved across the country. He told the members of the church that they were not alone in the pains inflicted by the “dastardly act” of the bombers. 

He said he was going to visit the blast victims who are presently receiving treatment at the National Hospital, Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital and other hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Also speaking, the Parish Priest, Reverend Father Isaac Achi, said he was not in church during the fateful morning mass, but when he was alerted, he rushed to the church to find the whole place in chaos. 

“When I got to church, I saw several corpses on the ground at the frontage of the church gate,” he said. The Reverend Father said the church was yet to ascertain the level of the damage on the church and the exact number of casualties from his parish. Meanwhile, a short mass was yesterday held for the victims of the bomb blast in the church.

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Girl Lost Parents, Siblings to Boko Haram Christmas Bomb

Will you call it luck, destiny or divine intervention? For Nancy, the decision not to attend the Christmas Day early morning mass is kept her alive.

Despite pressure on her by her father and siblings, Nancy, 13, the last of her parents’ three children, declined to go with them for the early morning Mass. 

She pleaded with her parents to allow her stay back at home to enable her dress her hair. When it became evident that she was not ready to go with them, her mother, in annoyance, left some money and asked her to prepare food for the Christmas . 

 Francis and Jennifer Maduka, parents of Nancy, and their two elder daughters left for the church. They did not return. There was no premonition that death was lurking in the corner. Not even the directive by the Parish Priest, Rev. Father Isaac Achi, that all parishioners should wait for a Christmas gift from “Baby Jesus” after the mass could stop the family from leaving immediately.

Far away from the church, Nancy was preparing to dress her hair when a loud and ear-deafening sound rented the air. Like a wild harmattan fire, the news of the bombings at St. Theresa Catholic Church went round Madalla. Suddenly, Nancy remembered that her parents and sisters were in the church. She dashed to the church to find her parents and two sisters burnt in their car. Recounting the gory story, Nancy said: 

“I was not with them. I had to go and do my hair because I was in church throughout yesterday, preparing for the Christmas. So, I was unable to make it to mass, despite the pressure mounted by my father to dress up. “At about 7:30am, I went to do my hair and from there, I heard some people talking about bomb blast at St. Theresa Church. So, I went to check. As I was about entering the church, and was making enquiry, I saw somebody lying on the ground, dead. 

I know my dad’s car; everybody in the car was dead. The first person I identified was one of my sisters; she was dried up by the fire from the explosion. I saw my parents in the front seat, and they were all burnt in the car. I lost all; my parents, my sisters. I lost all. I was crying because I can see a bleak future ahead of me. Where do I go from where I am? I was not only confused; I initially felt all hope was lost. 

The only thing I recalled was that some people came and dragged me away from my father’s burnt car.” Now living with the Parish Sisters, Nancy is hopeful of a good future. “I don’t know why this happened, but since this is the way the good Lord wants it, let it be. All I know is that all hope is not lost. I strongly believe this is not the end of the world for me. I know God has a plan for me to have spared my life,” she said.

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Nigerian Muslims Respond To Christmas Day Bombing

"A Bomb exploded today in Madalla, a village near Abuja, We Muslims are deeply touched by dis unfortunate event. 

And want to call on the attention of all Christians to reason logically before start pointing fingers. 

This bomb was not set by Muslims but rather a hidden force trying to send the Christians and muslims of this country to war with each other. 

We should pray to God to expose the evil people orchestrating all the bomb-blast in this country, with the sole aim of pushing this country to a civil war."

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Graphic Videos of Boko Haram Christmas Day Bombing

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