I was sent on suicide mission when i refused to marry BH commanders- Teenager

Agency report || A 14-year-old suspected female suicide bomber arrested by the military has said she was chosen for the mission because she refused marriage advances from three Boko Haram commanders.

The teenage girl was arrested with two others by the military as they planned to detonate an improvised explosive device in Jakana area in Maiduguri.

Narrating her ordeal to the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), the girl said that she and her father, Usman, were running to Mandara mountain for safety when they were abducted in Gwoza, Borno, in 2013.

“I have spent three years in the hands of Boko Haram. Three different Boko Haram (terrorists) had proposed to marry me and I refused. Two among them were commanders (amir),” the suspect told NAN.

“When I refused for the third time, one of the commanders became furious and threatened to kill me and my father. I told him I would rather die than marry a Boko Haram (terrorist).

“So, after one week, they said since I have refused to get married, I should be taken to Maiduguri for a suicide mission. So, three of them held my hands and they injected me.

“Then, I never knew what was happening again.

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‘’I was taken to a herbalist, who, after I regained consciousness, told me that I had been with him for 30 days.

“He told me he was preparing me for a mission. So he gave me some water to drink. I don’t know what it tasted like but I drank it. So, he said they would come and pick me today.

“At about 7 pm, three Boko Haram (members) came with a male and a female. They were also recruited for the mission like me.

“We spent one and a half days on the road to Maiduguri. It was when we got to Maiduguri that they strapped the bombs on our bodies. At that moment I knew that I was going to die, so I started crying.

“I was watching when the first bomber, a female, detonated her explosive close to a military checkpoint which killed no one but herself. The second, a male, was killed by the military before he could detonate his.

“At that time something told me to remove my own IED and surrender which I did. I was surrounded by soldiers and policemen and I fainted.

“When I woke, I discovered that one of the policemen at the checkpoint was my mother’s brother. I think that was the reason I survived.”

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Meanwhile,  Lucky Irabor, theatre commander of operation Lafiya Dole, said the suspects were being de-radicalised at the military detention facility.

“We have quite a number of them here in our facility. We have been profiling them and making them feel comfortable,” Irabor said.

“So far, from their testimonies, they usually tell us that they were brainwashed by some sort of charms to commit suicide.”

According to the army, the weapons recovered from the four Boko Haram kidnap gang are one locally-made six-loader single-barrelled gun, one empty cartridge, two machetes, a knife, two mobile phones, two packets of Tramadol tablets and N360,000.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspects were currently undergoing investigation.

He said, “Troops deployed at Forward Operation Base, Yuga, on blocking position, on Sunday, following a tip-off from well-meaning individuals, ambushed and arrested four suspected kidnappers at Mundu village.

“Also, troops of Forward Operation Base, Fika, on routine patrol, on Sunday, arrested a suspected fleeing Boko Haram terrorist, Bala Ibrahim, 30.

“Preliminary investigation shows that the suspect hails from Bulabulin village in the Fika LGA. He is being further interrogated.”