A suspected Boko
Haram enclave came down in rubbles yesterday in Jos.Its last occupants included
Hauwa Mohammed, said to be the widow of the suspected ThisDay suicide
bomber who attacked the newspaper office in Abuja, last month.
Five other women, believed to be wives of Boko
Haram operatives, were among the residents.
Seized from the house before a bulldozer was
called to duty were over 1000 assorted ammunition and ten bags of fertilizer
suspected to be part of the materials used by the sect members to make
explosives.
The building was demolished by the Special Task
Force (STF) on the Jos crises in conjunction with the Borno State Joint Task
Force.
A few hours after the operation, Vice President
Namadi Sambo told the sect members to grab the opportunity for dialogue offered
them by the Federal Government.
The women were traced there from Maiduguri by
the Borno JTF which stormed the village at about 4am yesterday accompanied by
their counterparts in Jos.
The soldiers first cordoned off the area only
for some people to throw an explosive at them, according to a military source.
The next stage of the operation was for them to
search the area. They found some explosives which they detonated.
This was followed by the evacuation of the residents
and the ammunition, and then the demolition of the building.
The entire operation was completed at about
5pm.
The women were taken to the STF headquarters in
Jos for interrogation.
The operation was originally planned for Friday
but was put forward by 24 hours on religious consideration.
Jos has witnessed repeated religious crises
between Muslims and Christians over the last few years.
Rikkos village has had its own share of the
crises with several churches there coming under attack.
Hauwa Muhammed was allowed to talk to reporters
before she was taken into custody.
She said: "My name is Hauwa Muhammed. I am
from Damaturu, I came to Jos a few weeks ago. I was brought by my late husband,
but three days ago I was told my husband had died in an accident.
"Another man promised to take care of me
in Jos here."
Military sources said Hauwa’s husband was the
suicide bomber in the attack on ThisDay’soffice,
Abuja.
Following the bombing, the man’s widow and wife
and 11 children were relocated from Maiduguri to Jos.
The STF, in a statement yesterday signed by its
media officer, Captain Markus Mdahyelya said two generators, four Improvised
Explosive Devices ( IEDs), and assorted chemicals including sodium oxide,
potassium chloride, lead nitrate, aluminium meter powder and one remote control
were impounded.
He warned landlords against giving out their
houses for use by terrorists, saying landlords should thoroughly screen their
tenants and report any suspected person to the appropriate agencies for prompt
action.
The village has been placed under heavy
military surveillance.