Nigerian Troops Kill Boko Haram Second in Command, Abu Saad – JTF

The Nigerian military has announced that it has killed the deputy leader of the Boko Haram sect during onslaught against the group in Borno State.

The military Joint Task Force, JTF, said it killed Momodu Bama – aka Abu Saad – on August 4, during an offensive by the sect on a Mobile Police Base, and Bama Town.

Abu Saad was Boko Haram’s Operation Officer and second in command to Abubakar Shekau and was one of the most "vicious and heartless killer in the group with penchant for slaughtering his victims," the military said in a statement on Tuesday.

Before his death, the JTF placed a N25 million bounty on him.

The military said Abu Saad was killed alongside his father, Abatcha Flatari, who was described as "one the spiritual mentors" of Boko Haram.

He was "in charge of indoctrinating child foot soldiers who are mainly abducted children," Sagir Musa, spokesman of the Borno JTF, said in the statement.

The military increased its offensive on the sect and other criminal groups in three northeastern states – Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe – after a State of Emergency was declared there in May.

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I Killed 23 People in 2 Days - Captured Boko Haram Member

Culled from Nigerian TRIBUNE

A member of the Boko Haram sect, who was arrested in Maiduguri, Borno State, shocked the people of Ngomari ward “Bakin Borehole” in Maiduguri, when he confessed to killing 23 people in two days, including slaughtering a village head and police officers in the area.

The member, who was arrested on Tuesday evening, was said to have relocated about a year ago and rented a one-room apartment, living as an innocent citizen in search of safe haven in the state capital.

A resident of Ngomari, who pleaded anonymity, told the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday that the sect member was arrested wearing a Jeans trouser and a vest when he went out to fetch water.

According to the resident, the sect member was arrested by “Civilian JTF,” adding that his arrest was made possible when the vigilance youth arrested his younger brother who, in turn, took them to Ngomari, where his brother was living.

“We were shocked when we heard that Civilian JTF came and arrested a sect member in our area.

“We have never imagined we could have somebody like that in our area, because we have been living peacefully.

“We were the most shocked when the sect member confessed that he killed 23 people in two days. That is horrible and unimaginable, but a reality,” he said.  

Meanwhile, the “Civilian JTF” was seen on Wednesday in front of the house of one of the politicians in Maiduguri at about 7.15 a.m, barely 24 hours after it was reported that the youth group went hunting for the politician for allegedly sponsoring terrorism in the state.

In another development, some members of the dreaded sect have promised the presidential committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the North to collaborate with the government to put an end to the continued bloodletting.

During a visit of the presidential committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the North to a detention site in Maiduguri, on Tuesday, over 50 detained members of the sect said if they were given a chance, they would assist authorities to end the crisis.

One of the detainees, Adam Konto, introduced himself to the chairman of the committee, Kabir Taminu Turaki, as the commander of the Bayan quarter, adding that they were ready not to pick up arms against the nation again.

"Most of us were brainwashed and recruited into the sect and given dastardly acts to do without our full understanding of what we were doing," he said.

Another detainee, who identified himself as Babagana Saje, while also expressing his readiness to denounce the sect, said the police should be commended for keeping them alive.

Shocking Photo: JTF Uncovers Ammunition Depot In Kano, Arrests 3 Lebanese

The Joint Task Force on Thursday said it had uncovered a Lebanon-based Hezbollah armoury and terror cell in Bompai, Kano State.

The force, which said it found large cache of arms and ammunition, also confirmed the arrest of three persons in connection with the armoury and the cell.

A Lebanese national currently out of the country reportedly owns the premises where the armoury and the cell were found at No 3, Gaya Road, Off Bompai Road in the ancient city.

A statement by the JTF spokesman, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, said the JTF operatives, comprising officials of the 3rd Army Brigade in Kano and the State Security Service conducted the operations.

The operatives, he said, uncovered an underground bunker in the premises where large quantities of assorted weapons were hidden.

Iweha, who said the construction of the bunker was special, listed anti-tank weapons, rocket propelled guns and anti-tank/personnel mines as some of the dangerous weapons found in the premises.

He added that the weapons and ammunition were concealed in coolers, drums and bags.

According to him, the latest recovery followed an ongoing robust counter-terrorism investigation by the SSS.

Confirming the existence of a Hezbollah cell in the country, Iweha noted that the SSS had arrested one Mustapha Fawaz, co-owner of Amigo Supermarket and the Wonderland Amusement Park, in Abuja.

The arrest of Fawaz, Iweha said, led to the arrest of another Lebanese terror suspect, Abdullah Tahini, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with over$60,000

He added, “Thereafter on May 26, 2013, one Talal Roda, also a Lebanese with a Nigerian Passport, was arrested in the same house.

“All those arrested have confessed to have undergone Hezbollah Terrorist Training and further implicated one Fauzi Fawad, also a co-owner of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Amusement Park.”

When one of our correspondents contacted the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, he described the discovery of the arms and the arrest of the Lebanese importers as “a major breakthrough.”

The action of the JTF operatives, he said demonstrated the commitment of security agencies to riding the country of illegal arms.

Meanwhile, the SSS said the weapons  were intended for use against “Israeli and Western interests”.

“This is the handwork of Hezbollah,” Bassey Ettang, director of the SSS said in Kano.

“You can also be sure that if a group like this is existing, then it may even lend support to some of the local terrorists we have on the ground.”

Hezbollah is a Shia military and political movement based in Lebanon considered by the United States to be a terrorist organisation.

  The sect was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and was primarily formed to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation.

Its leaders were inspired by former Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, and its forces were trained and organised by a contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto listed its four main goals as “Israel’s final departure from Lebanon as a prelude to its final obliteration.”

 

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