James Bwala
A major disaster in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, was on Wednesday foiled by the police, as the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had planned to present cleverly wrapped bombs as Sallah gifts to some individuals in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Simeon Midenda, said on Wednesday that the command had arrested a 23-year-old member of the sect, Sheriff Shettima, who was the arrowhead of the plans.
Shettima, the police boss said, was trained in bomb making and had led some major operations of the sect in the past.
Addressing newsmen, Mr Midenda said that Shettima was arrested in his house in Maiduguri metropolis, where explosives, guns and ammunition, which he confessed were initially prepared to bomb the headquarters of Borno State police command, were recovered.
The police boss said that the suspect confessed that the bombing of the police headquarters could not be done because of an emergency journey he made to Kano to transact some business.
The suspect, according to the police, revealed that some of the explosives were meant to be wrapped as gifts for people during sallah, adding that the receivers of the gifts might not suspect that these are IEDs.
The police boss said, these people would have succeeded but for God's intervention, adding, with the arrest of Sheriff Shettima and by extension, the recovery of arms and ammunition, the command has averted a major disaster that was to befall Maiduguri and mar peaceful celebration of the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir.
Mr Midenda said that the police also recovered one SMG rifle (French made) with 104 rounds of live ammunition, empty ammunition chains, two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), two pairs of military uniform, three empty ammunition boxes and three gallons of highly inflammable liquid.
The police commissioner also said that Shettima confessed that his team was responsible for some robbery operations in the state to raise funds for the sect, adding that the team robbed FirstBank Nigeria Plc, Damboa branch, where they killed one Corporal Yohanna Ishaya, a policeman on guard duty, and stole N21,992,890.00 on October 12, 2011, while the gang was also responsible for the attack on the same bank in May 2011 as well as the Kala Balge Local Government salary robbery incident, in which an inspector of police and a police constable as well as the local government cashier were killed.
The police boss said the suspect also led the police investigating team to 25 different houses of his accomplices in Maiduguri metropolis, with a view to arresting them, but lamented that all the houses were found to have been abandoned by their occupants.
Also speaking on the recent snatching of vehicles at gunpoint in Maiduguri, the commissioner said the police had arrested one Idi Umar, a notorious robbery suspect, following the confession by one of his gang members, Idi Musa.
He said one AK47 rifle with 57 rounds of live ammunition were recovered from him, while three vehicles, number plates and vehicle documents were found in his possession.
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