Nigerian Newspapers
Confessions of Boko Haram fugitive
■ Our agenda is to wipe out Christians
■ We have govs, senators as sponsors, our members are in police, army
| His physique could hardly fit into the temperament of his persuasion. He is frail, he talks slowly and you would have no qualms passing him off as one naïve, harmless young man. But all that is a façade. Beneath it nestles a motivated terror. Nasir Isiaku, 27, has zealous hatred for Christians. Hear him: “If we asked our victim, ‘Will you become a Muslim or not and he or she refuses, we will slaughter him like a goat…” He talked of himself as an Islamic warrior who delights in chopping off people’s head with a stroke of his dagger. |
However, all of that was, according to him, up until he made a turnaround in a most dramatic way. Nasir Isiaku is from Gusau in Zamfara State. He said while still in the group, he killed many Christians when he reigned as second-in-command to a terrorist group that wages war against non-Muslims in northern Nigeria. The group, Shitte, is a Boko Haram franchise. “Our own group is called Shitte but we have the same agenda with the Boko Haram sect. You people have only been hearing of Boko Haram, but there are other deadly Islamic groups who are also part of Boko Haram sect,” he said, adding: “Whenever we heard that any of the sects was fighting Christians, we always joined them,”
He was speaking to a gathering of Christians recently of his activities as a member of the terror group. He also told of how he renounced what he called “the cult” where he drank his victims’ blood so their ghosts would not appear to him in dreams.
This is Isiaku’s testimony as he told it himself. We have slightly edited it, so as to preserve its narrative purity. WOLE BALOGUN was there:
“I joined the Bafarawa Arabic Islamic Centre in 2010 and they were teaching us Arabic language. Every year, we take about 20 people to Iran for special training because our zonal headquarters is in Iran. Our own group is called Shitte but we have the same agenda with the Boko Haram sect. You people have only been hearing of Boko Haram, but there are other deadly Islamic groups that are also part of Boko Haram sect. I can count up to six of them that I’m very much aware of. Whenever we heard that any of the sects was fighting Christians, we always joined them. My own group has been an Islamic movement for a long time, even before I was born. It reigned in the north during the Abacha military regime and it has many branches in the north. We are in major northern states such as Kastina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Zaria among others.
Sometimes, when we want to wreak havoc on Christians, we hire our own bus because we have our own weapons, which we use against the Christians. We usually join the Boko Haram sect whenever they wanted to fight the Christians or the soldiers because we usually hear that soldiers kill our Boko Haram brothers in Maiduguri, Yobe and Potiskum.
I used to be one of the most trusted hands in the group because I was a very obedient and loyal follower. I had my own secret office where I received delegates from our sponsors whenever our leader wasn’t around and where I attend to the needs of any of our members.
This is why I didn’t participate in many of our attacks against the Christians or the soldiers because I used to take care of the home front. Our leaders usually psyched us up, they brainwashed us to fight against Christians because they are enemies of Allah. They taught us that the more Christians we were able to kill, the more our chances of entering Alijonan (heaven).
Many of our trainings hold in the night, around 10pm. There is a bush around the school where we usually go for trainings.
Some aspects of the training we receive are not ordinary; we used to drink what one could call spiritual water because it is not ordinary water. We also used to receive strange visitors who were not equally ordinary humans. We receive the visitors in a strange way, our leaders used to summon them: they used to instruct us to recite some passages in the Quran and whenever we do that, the visitors would appear to us during those unholy hours. They could come in three or four. They appeared like humans but they are not humans. We know they are not humans. They usually fortify us with charms for the task before us. They used to instruct us to be strong and fight.
Our leaders also used to render a lot of assistance to support our cause. They bring a lot of money in a pick up van and asked us to use the money to buy guns. Many of our supplies come from the zonal headquarters and sometimes, there is a popular Bayelsa man who is, though a Christian, supporting our cause in cash and kind. I can’t remember his name now. The Bayelsa man gave us money and also supplied us with weapons for the mission.
I am the second in command in my camp in our group, and whenever our president travels to the headquarters in Iran, I used to coordinate the group and receive our sponsors on his behalf. This is why I am able to sit with the sponsors and know what happens.
We had vowed to first kill all Christians in Kaduna before dealing with others in the north. Whenever we take the spiritual water, we become more daring to do any evil. It makes us more dangerous and if we were annoyed at such moment, we could kill. The water also fortifies us against gunshots. When we have taken it, bullets will not harm us. Also, we get mystery ring from our leaders. About eight of us were selected for the ring, and that ring provides almost anything we asked from it. It is like a personal power for us.
I can’t recall the number of people I have killed. I don’t use gun most times. We usually use guns to shoot people on the leg. If we ask a victim: “Will you become a Muslim or not? And he or she refuses, we slaughter the victim like a goat. And after killing the victim, we collect his or her blood in a very small cup and then drink it. After drinking the blood, the victim’s ghost could not hunt us in dreams. That is what our leaders told us. And indeed, once we taste the blood of people we kill, we will not see them in our dreams.
Sometimes, when we don’t feel like drinking the blood from the cup, we used our fingers to touch the victim’s blood and taste it. It will still prevent ghost of victim from hunting us in dreams.
We used to kill Christians because we believe that by killing them, we will enter heaven at death. Our leaders used a Quranic passage that seems to support our action (Recites some Quranic lines). In interpretation, the passage says: “O you believers, you should not be friendly with your enemies.” ‘Believers’ here means we, the Muslims and ‘enemies’ are the Christians.
The leaders of our group and the sponsors are many. Our sponsors are wealthy Nigerians. They are in government, and many are past Nigerian leaders. If I mention their names, you would think I am just telling lies. We have governors, senators who sponsor us heavily. Our sponsors are many (Names mentioned are withheld). You wouldn’t believe some of them are really part of us. We usually invite them to the graduation of the students in the school. That is when many know them as part of us.
We have days we go to town to preach and win more members. On such days, we add a red cap to our white T-Shirt and trousers. On another occasion when we put on black caps, it means we won’t fight.
We have infiltrated the Nigerian forces. We have our members in the police and army. Those members help us a lot whenever we want to fight.
However, we are very secretive, my blood brother who was not a member didn’t know I was part of the sect. I kept my association with the sect secret from people close to me who don’t share our views about Christians. My father loved me very well.
Right from the time we attended Chachangi School, a lower school in my place, our Islamic instructors had been drumming it into our ears that we should tighten our belts to fight the Christians. They instructed us to always be armed, either with knife or gun. They even told us to have our own gun and get license for it.
My own area in Kaduna is Torumada, it is a haven for many Islamic terrorists in Nigeria. Before I joined the Shiite school, I took part in several fights in which we massacred many Christians. The Christians in Sokoto are most vulnerable to attacks from our people because they are just within our reach, but they have also been very lucky because a major Islamic cleric in the state is always pleading that we shouldn’t touch them.
We actually found out many places in Sokoto where Christians are living. One of them is Ota Road, but in order to respect our Islamic cleric, we haven’t touched them.
Boko Haram has their men trained in Afganistan. I don’t know if you have been hearing about the Taliban, those who sacrifice their lives through suicide bombing. The Talibans are the ones who are training Boko Haram men. I know Boko Haram usually have about 60 men who go for training in Afganistan. They train them on how to go on suicide bombing, make their own bombs and fight and do other dangerous things. They also provide them with sophisticated weapons such as bombs and all that.
Since I gave my life to Christ, I have been getting several attacks from the cult. There was a Thursday evening in Sokoto, I was supposed to go to vigil with a roommate named brother Matthew. He asked me to go with him but I declined, saying I was tired. When it was well into the night, I suddenly heard a loud, disturbing knock on the door. The voice that called out to me resembled that of brother Matthew. It said that I should open the door. The man actually spoke in Hausa, asking me to open up for him, but something pulled me back. My heart pounded and I suddenly realized it could be an impostor coming to attack me. But then, I couldn’t pray, all I could only mutter was Holy Ghost fire! I said this repeatedly till the stranger disappeared. And then I heard the barking of a dog from somewhere in the neighourhood.
Eventually, when the real Matthew came from church and asked for the door to be opened, I became hysterical with him. I demanded his explanations for the earlier visit but he said it wasn’t him. Initially I didn’t believe him. It took the explanation of another brother who confirmed that he was actually in the church all through the night for me to let things be. I could have killed him.
Before the attack, I had been keeping indoors. I couldn’t go out just anyhow because I knew members of the group would be looking for me.
So, after that incident, my pastor decided to take me to his village, away from the area where everyone knew me.
It is only God that can stop the war Boko Haram and other Islamic religious sects have started against the Christians in Nigeria. I thank God that I am out and now a Christian. The frank advice I can offer to all Christians is that they should start securing their own weapons, tighten their belts and prepare for war. The terrorist sects are prepared for war already. I am just looking at all Christians in Nigeria as dead people because of the level of preparations the sects have made.
It was on March 6, that I had a strange encounter that turned me into a completely different person. We usually go for our preaching on Fridays and Saturdays. I had just returned from one of such outings in Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State, it was around 3pm. I was about to start taking ablution for the evening prayers when it happened. A man in pure, resplendent white attire just appeared to me. And once I saw him I was scared and dropped the small keg of water and ran off to my office. My people were asking me and I told them that I saw a man in white but they said they didn’t see anybody and even when I went back to the spot where I had seen the man, he was no longer there.
Then that night when I slept, the strange man in white came to me again. He was holding a stick and then I was frightened and I shouted and woke up with a start. My people rushed to me and said I was having a nightmare. Our leader said that the man in white must be an evil one. They took me to a powerful Mallam in Gombe who did some prayers for me to ward off the evil man in white. After the prayers, the Mallam assured me that nothing would happen to me and I returned to our base. But then when I slept again the following night, the same man in white appeared to me again and this time, he spoke to me. He said: “God has chosen you”. He said that three times and I again woke up with a start and that again alarmed my people. But when they asked what happened to me, I lied to them that there was nothing.
When it was morning, I took my bathe and deliberately went to see a barber friend who is a Christian. After he had finished cutting my hair, I opened up to him. I told him about my encounter with the strange old man in white and he said that the man must be God reaching out to me. I asked him why God would want to reach out to me. He then asked me if I was ready to give my life to Christ and serve God and immediately I said yes. I was even surprised at the way I simply took it.
Since I started fellowshipping with the church, I have become a different being. The experience was like I had a thorough bathe, which washed off all impurities like diseases and all that. Before the experience, I used to walk around like one afflicted with insanity, but now, I am more relaxed and composed. I now take time to take care of myself and even have inner peace. I used to live on drugs but now, I don’t take drugs any longer. I feel healthy.
It is not easy to quite the brotherhood because we undergo terrible and diabolic initiation process that hardened us. It is only by God’s touch that anyone one could renounce the group. When I was still there a certain high profile member of the Boko Haram sect, named Shuaib, renounced the group. I was part of many others who personally swore that we would ensure that we skin Shuaib alive if we see him anywhere.
But I want to tell my colleagues who are still in it to have a change of heart. I now realize that killing Christians would not take me to heaven; instead, it will take me to hell. And I’m ready to live a good life as a Christian.”
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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