Three suspected Boko Haram terrorists over the weekend invaded the El- Amin Daggash Mosque in Government Reserved Area, GRA, in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The suspected terrorists, who allegedly came all the way from Bama council, allegedly attempted to kill a preacher, Modu Mustapha, during Tafsir (Ramadan Preaching).
They were, however, lynched by angry mobs, leading to the arrest of two of the suspects while one died in the process.
DailyPost gathered that the terrorists, who were armed with AK 47 rifles and a piston, came with a Golf Saloon car and one tricycle.
A source told our correspondent that the incident happened at about 4 pm, when the Tafsir programme was going on.
The source said a concerned resident who had sighted one of the terrorists with a pistol sitting uncomfortably inside the congregation, alerted the residents.
According to him, the mob beat the suspect to death and arrested two others while they were trying to escape.
However, the Joint Task Force in Maidugri has dismissed the alleged planned attack, describing it as an error of judgement by a policeman on duty.
In a press statement which was signed by the JTF Spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa and made available to Journalists in Maiduguri said, “the JTF wishes to clear the air on what happened at the vicinity of El-Amin Daggash Mosque in GRA, Maiduguri on Saturday 20th July, 2013.
“The incident was not a terrorist attack as insinuated, rather, it was an error of judgement by a policeman on duty that pursued someone who allegedly stole a tricycle and a bag of rice and drove off. The policeman was in Mufti, wore Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Reflective Jacket, pursued the alleged thief and fired two gun shots”, the statement noted.
Sagir said, the incident happened very close to the said Mosque when Ramadan preaching was on, adding that the firing by the policeman attracted the attention of worshippers including youth vigilantes popularly known as ‘Civilian JTF’ that were within and around the Mosque.
The JTF Spokesman said, “as a result, there was pandemonium that led to the death of one minor and three others sustained injuries”.
He noted that the vigilante lynched the policeman, burnt the Toyota Carina Saloon Car (that the Policeman was in) and the tricycle, before the JTF patrol team rescued the policeman, calmed the youths and restored normalcy to the area.
In another development, over 50 suspected terrorists were over the weekend arrested in Maduganari ward area of Maiduguri Metropolis with the assistance of civilian JTF (vigilante youths) and men of the JTF.
The incident, which took place on Saturday, was based on intelligence report that some of the fleeing terrorists around Sambisa Game Reserve Forest and Bullabulin Ngarnam areas who survived the military offensive had regrouped to Maduganari with the aim of launching fresh attacks during the Ramadan Fasting.
Maduganari is one of the peaceful wards of Maiduguri metropolis which had not witnessed any killings and bombings even during the heat of the crisis.
A military source said the suspects were picked up by the joint effort of the JTF and vigilant youths at a hideout, adding that they recovered many arms and ammunitions in the process.
Confirming the arrest of the terror suspects, the JTF Spokesman, Leuitenant Colonel Sagir Musa in an interview with newsmen said, there was a massive arrests of suspected Boko Haram Terrorists in Maduganari over the weekend, but could not give the actual number of those arrested.
He added that the arrest was made based on intelligence report, stressing that after interrogation, those found not guilty of associating or being members of terrorist groups would be released.
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