A member of Islamic militant, popularly called Boko Haram was arrested
today, Tuesday, along Damboa road by members of the Civilian JTF while
attempting to detonate an improvised Explosive Device (IED) at a crowded
fuel station where hundreds of people were waiting to buy fuel.
Garba
Hussaini, a pump attendant, told Daily Post thus, “Today, we are very lucky because there are over 500 people with
hundreds of cars waiting for fuel when the sect member approach the
crowd with 5 litres gallon, pretending to have come to buy fuel.”
According
to him, when one of the boys controlling the crowd tried to prevent him
from entering with the gallon, he got angry and remove a knife,
attempting to stab the boy. “In the process, a member of the Civilian
JTF noticed that, bomb was tied round him and he quickly grabbed him
before he made any attempt to detonate it,” he added.
Speaking with one of the buyers on the queue,
who identify himself as Mallam Sani, he said, ” I did not know what
happen. I only saw people running and the Civilian JTF grabbed somebody.
They carried him inside Keke Napep and head to town, later I heard
that, he was Boko Haram with bomb trying to kill people. Actually, I
don’t know why fuel should be scarce in the first place when we have a
competent president, who is also the petroleum minister. If this Boko
Haram had succeeded, hundreds of people would have gone with him.”
Another
Mohammed Umar said that, immediately the man came,
they started suspecting him, then he went back and brought a gallon. “A
lot of people were trying to bribe their way in to have the fuel and the
crowd was concentrated around the pumps. This man just pushed one of
the boys controlling the crowd from outside and was going in when the
boy held his hand, trying to stop him, and the man drew a dagger. We
suddenly saw one of the JTFs grabbed the man from behind.
“We did
not hear what he was saying until we heard bomb! Bomb!! Then everybody
began to run away. They said, he was carrying bomb. For me, I took to my
heels when I saw people running. I don’t associate myself with crowd
since Boko Haram started bombing people. But this one would have been
another catastrophe,” he said.