Another suspected Boko Haram bomb-making factory was yesterday uncovered in Kano State by members of the Joint Task Force, JTF, even as the JTF in Maiduguri killed three suspected members of the sect in a shootout yesterday.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the JTF discovered the suspected bomb factory as they stormed the house of suspected Boko Haram members at Hayin Hotoro in Nassarawa local government area of Kano State.
The JTF found five tins of suspected improvised explosive devices [IEDs] in the house when they stormed the house around 2am Tuesday.
Yesterday’s raid was the fourth JTF operatives carried out in Kano metropolis. JTF spokesman Lt Ikedichi Iweha, who disclosed this while conducting newsmen round the house, said two women and a number of children were rescued during the early morning operation in the house.
According to him, the JTF operatives were able to storm the area following a tip-off.
He said the JTF operatives were able to discover a room and a parlour of 25 by 25 ft size where the IEDs were allegedly being manufactured.
He said items recovered at the house included five IEDs, assorted containers, prime drum, liquid substances, charcoal as well as a film clip of the late Osama bin Laden entitled ‘Osama bin Laden: Death at last’.
“The two women and children we have rescued have been taken away for investigation, and the house will be brought down using military armoured carrier,” he said.
3 Boko Haram members killed
Three suspected members of the sect were shot dead by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri, Borno State capital. The field operations officer of the JTF in Borno State, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, who confirmed the killing in a telephone interview yesterday in Maiduguri, said the trio were killed when they attempted to rob some locals.
He said “Three suspected Boko Haram terrorists who went to rob some residents of Maiduguri were killed this evening in a shootout with the JTF while they were trying to flee the scene
“With the way we are cracking down on the Boko Haram terrorists, we strongly believe that their end is in sight. Some of them have now resorted to armed robbery and other forms of criminality, but we will surely fish them out.”
Arewa youths seek amnesty for sect
Meanwhile, the leaders of all youth groups and student leaders from the 19 northern states, the Arewa Youths have called on the federal government to grant amnesty to the Boko Haram sect as a way of bringing a permanent end to their insurgency.
The youth groups, who came together collectively for the first time in Kaduna yesterday, had in attendance over 200 youth leaders who deliberated on the current happenings in the country and particularly the security challenges in the north in particular. They frowned at the way and manner innocent people are dying by the day, and resolved that giving amnesty to the Boko Haram sect and other worrying groups will help douse the situation.
This was contained in the communiqué read by the chairman of the Communiqué Drafting Committee, Dr Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe, at the end of the meeting.
The youth groups, however, noted with dismay that the present security challenges being witnessed in the country was largely due to the inability of the government at all levels to discharge its responsibilities in all ramifications.
It further stated that the extra-judicial killing of Mohammed Yusuf and his members was part of the issues that has threatened the security of the nation, noting that part of the security challenges was the laxity on the part of non-governmental organizations and the conspiracy of the elite.
The communiqué read in part: “Government must, through its commission of enquiry, identify the killers of those that were killed extra judicially and bring them to book and also compensate those that were killed extra-judicially and declare amnesty for the members of the Boko Haram group and other groups in Plateau, Kaduna and other parts of the north.
“Northern state governors should initiate an account to contribute at least N200 million monthly towards establishing mega banks in the north to create job and skill acquisition centres for our youths.
“Vocational training centres and skill acquisition training centres should be established in the north to train our youths with the viable skills and trade so as to be self-reliant.
“Government should get rid of soldiers on our streets and highways, and also our lawyers should be able to render selfless service to those arrested unjustly; we are urging Nigerian leaders to take their children to public schools as well as public hospitals when sick as that is the only way they can pay attention to making those places work.
“There must be a recall of military personnel to the barracks from the streets. While we commend the Faruk Lawan-led subsidy committee, we totally accept the report and ask the National Assembly to go ahead to implement its recommendations and other recommendations contained in their submission totally; failure to which we will not hesitate to call on our members across the northern parts of the country to execute protest because things cannot continue the way they are now.”
