AMILOADED MEDIA HUB NEWS UPDATE
For almost three years, residents of Kolobe Community in Gbeganu area in the outskirt of Minna, Niger State, lived side by side with a suspected Boko Haram leader unknowingly.
Though he didn’t unleash terror on the residents since he arrived in the area, none knew his identity.
There was no cause for anyone to have suspected or linked the suspect to any sort of crime because alongside his family members, he lived quietly in the community.
The suspect, now at large, and his family did not relate with their neighbours as they kept a distance from everybody.
However, the narrative changed last Monday when the true picture of the quiet but deadly citizen came to the fore.
Just like any other day, residents had gone to bed but were awakened by sporadic gunshots and other explosives.
No one dared to run out for fear of not being caught in the crossfire. The frightened residents took refuge in their apartments praying for survival.
For those whose buildings are close to the suspect’s residence, their houses were shattered by explosives. Some had parts of their buildings destroyed while others had their roofs blown up.
However, the end did not come as they eventually survived to tell the story.
In separate interviews with vanguard many residents described the incident as “horrible and terrific.”
“We started hearing unexpected sounds of gunshots from different angles around 12 am on Monday.
“Nobody in my family could say exactly what was happening. My wife and children ran in different directions within the house while I hid in the toilet waiting for the worst,” one of the residents who pleaded anonymity said.
Similarly, an eyewitness and resident who also craved anonymity described the incident as agonizing.
“All we were hearing were gunshots as if we were in a war zone. We did not know what actually led to it until the next day, Sunday, when we had a full gist. We learnt it was a battle between the suspect and the security operatives who had come to arrest the deadly and fully armed terrorist from his fortified house,” the eyewitness remarked.
According to a 17-year-old girl, who didn’t want her name in print, the suspect and his family lived like an island in the community.
She said: “What I noticed about the man is that he drives in and out of the house always alone and in dark glasses. He greets nobody and nobody greets him because the car is tinted and nobody could see or recognise him.
“However, when he came in yesterday,(Monday) he came on a motorcycle in the morning and was ushered in by his children.
“The family does not live a flamboyant life as the children are occasionally sent out to buy firewood and food items.
“The only business you can link the entire family to is the sale of their borehole water to members of the public. Besides payment for the service rendered, they didn’t give room for any interaction whatsoever.”
Also shedding more light on the incident, one of the immediate neighbours of the suspect, who also pleaded anonymity for security reasons, said he had been residing in the area since 2020 as a tenant.
He said:”The former owner of the building is a retired NEPA staff member. I learnt he sold it to the current landlord.
“The suspected Boko Haram kingpin, who appears to own the house, is not friendly. The wife always wears flowing black Hijab.
“The entire community was thrown into confusion, agony and fear when we started hearing the exchange of gunshots at exactly 11:15pm last Monday. Because I was close to the house of the suspect, I started hearing,”ka bude wuta” consistently, meaning open fire. At exactly 11:20pm, the security operatives responded with their firepower.
“At about 2:30am, the first explosive sounded from the residence of the suspect, damaging the surrounding buildings. 20 minutes later, the second bomb exploded while the third followed at 3:30am.’’
Operatives of the State Security, army and police launched an operation at the Gbeganu area of Minna, in an attempt to arrest the suspect.
Sunday vanguard report that at the end of the operation, 150 AK47 rifles, 3,000 live ammunition, explosives, rocket launcher and anti-aircraft rifle were said to have been recovered from the house.
The Kogi State-born suspect was reported to have used a rocket launcher to destroy a part of his fence after which he escaped.
However, his wife and children were reportedly arrested and are now helping security operatives in their investigation.
The battle which lasted for about four hours did not record any loss of life except for a night watchman from a neighbouring house identified as Mubarak Abubakar, who was said to have been hit by a stray bullet and now recuperating at the IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna.
As of press time, no official statement had been made by Niger State Police Command.
Some residents of the community are gradually fleeing the area for fear of being attacked by followers of the suspected terrorist.
There was a similar incident in the same Gbeganu community in 2021, which led the administration of former Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to order the demolition of the building where the suspect resided.
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