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, who spoke with DAILY POST in Maiduguri said, “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.
When Our Correspondent arrived at the filling Station, there was obvious fear and shock on the faces of people waiting on the queue. The manager of the station who declined comment also asked the pump attendants to stop selling even as some people were following and begging him to sell the product to them.
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 told Our Correspondent 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.
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