General Orders Killing Of Seven Occupants Of His Building In Abuja..No ,They Are Boko Haram ..SSS

Seven young men were killed and 13 others injured in the early hours of yesterday when soldiers raided an uncompleted building at Zone E, Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, allegedly on the orders of the landlord identified as an army general.

It was learnt that the incident occurred less than 48 hours after the victims, who were identified as “illegal occupants” but registered tricycle (KEKE NAPEP) operators and water sellers (Mairuwa) were directed by the army general to quit the building.

The victims, who fell within the age bracket of 20-28 years, were brought to the Asokoro General Hospital in two police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) vehicles. 

 An official of the hospital, who craved anonymity, said that the general involved in the incident came to pay the bills for the treatment of the injured victims.

The hospital complex was cordoned off by armed policemen and men of the NSCDC when our correspondent visited the area. The vehicle driven by the police, with registration number NFP 6893C, conveyed three corpses to the hospital. It had the inscription of ACCOS Telecom mast and base station patrol team while that of the NSCDC came with four dead bodies wrapped in blankets. The vehicle had “Civil Defence Emergency and Disaster Management” written on it and the registration number was CD46-AO1.

Before they were evacuated, the sight of the dead bodies caused confusion among residents of the area close to the Jumat Mosque on Bamanga Street.

Some of the residents gathered around the uncompleted building to have a glimpse of the dead bodies.

A member of the House of Representative from Katsina State, Hon. Idris Nedabo, and some members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) sobbed uncontrollably when they came to the hospital morgue to identify the victims.

A survivor of the attack, Mallam Anas Abdullahi, spoken to  at the Asokoro General Hospital: “I am grateful to God for sparing my life. But I want justice for my departed colleagues. I escaped by climbing the wall to hide on top of the roof. I watched the soldiers take positions and shoot indiscriminately. Though I survived, I am pained at the way they were killed in their prime. We are not Boko Haram members, we are not criminals; we are only hustlers.”

Abdullahi admitted that the army general had given them quit notice: “Yes, we were asked by the general to vacate his building within two days. But the truth is that we were paying N200 daily as rent to his guard who in turn allowed us into the building to sleep. What shocked us was the sudden disappearance of the guard and his family members at 8pm of the night we were attacked on the mighty man’s order.”

He said they were already asleep when they heard sporadic gunshots after midnight and shouts of “run and be killed” by the soldiers who were armed and ready to kill everybody in the building. “It was when I heard wailing from the ground floor that I quickly climbed up unnoticed. I later heard that the soldiers ordered our neighbours (legitimate tenants) who were still outside on their arrival to go in and shut their doors. It is sad,” he lamented.

Hon. Nedabo who wept profusely while fielding questions described the killing as unacceptable. He said it was “an assassination and an intentional killing of innocent Nigerian youths”, adding that “ the attack raises worries of a repeat of the wave of violence in the country” and “the act is an indication that Nigeria is going backwards at an accelerated pace”.

He wondered why the soldiers decided to take the law into their hands in a democratic setting. He stated: “Are soldiers law enforcement agents? Have we also departed from the democratic government? Most of the victims are from my state. I mean, these are not illegal migrants or liabilities but people that have jobs and work for themselves. I stand to declare here that this syndrome of the untouchable be treated in a hurry before our youths are cleared. We cannot allow this to continue.

 “I have already spoken with the assistant inspector-general of police (AIG) in charge of this zone who has directed the commissioner of police to commence immediate investigation into the murderous act. I will not relent in this fight until the faceless general and his boys -- I mean the security personnel that carried out the act -- are exposed and shamed.”

The chairman, KEKE NAPEP Riders Association, Abuja chapter, Mallam Musa Ibrahim, who spoke in tears, lamented that soldiers whose mandate is to defend the country from international invaders and terrorists failed to bully his colleagues and force them out of the building, but chose to kill, injure and arrest others.

Ibrahim disclosed that he received a save-our-soul (SOS) phone call at 2am from some escaped members of the association, which he promptly responded to but he could not access the entrance to the residence as the soldiers were carrying out their job then. “Abuja estates are usually not occupied and this is why I am surprised that these super-rich men who don’t need these houses could go the extent of ordering the killing of innocent people. When the soldiers left, I went into the building and saw seven dead bodies and 13 others critically injured,” he said.

He gave the names of the deceased as Musa from Yobe State, Amadu Musa (Zamfara), Suleiman Imrana (Katsina), Buhari Ibrahim (Kano), Ashiru Musa (Katsina), Naura Abdullahi (Katsina), and Mamman Abdulallhi (Katsina).

 Ibrahim said his association would liaise with the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) to ensure that fairness and justice prevailed. He challenged President Goodluck Jonathan and the FCT minister, Bala Muhammed, to respond to the challenge to paste their message on billboards: “Say No to the killing of innocent Nigerians.”

The deputy national president of NYCN, Comrade Ozai Matthew Azibalua, described the incident as a clarion call on Nigerians to wake up from the shackles of untimely death. “NYCN is saying that justice must prevail. This is a big challenge for Nigerian youths. It’s our duty to ensure that the perpetrators of this act do not go unpunished,” he said.

The FCT police command public relations officer, Altine Daniel, confirmed the incident  but said they were still investigating it and would make their findings known later.

Also, the spokesman for the Department for State Services (DSS), Ms Marilyn Ogar, said the SSS got wind of the Boko Haram hideout in Apo following a tip-off by two of the sect’s members who were in their custody.

She said that when the operatives stormed the hideout and were combing the place for weapons, the insurgents opened fire on them. In the exchange of gunfire that ensued, seven of the insurgents were wounded.

Ogar’s statement reads in part: “In the early hours of today, 20th September, 2013, about 0030 hours a combined security team went for an operation behind the Apo Legislative Quarters. The operation was sequel to information obtained from two Boko Haram elements Kamal Abdullahi and Mohammed Adamu, who had earlier been arrested for terrorist activities. They led the security team to uncompleted buildings where arms were purported to have been buried underground.

“No sooner had the team commenced digging for the arms than they came under heavy gunfire attack by other Boko Haram elements within the area, which prompted immediate response from the security team. As a result, some persons were injured and 12 others have been arrested in connection with the incident, and are making useful statements,” she said.

Ogar said that normalcy had returned to the area and urged law-abiding citizens to go about their normal duties.

In a swift reaction, the army authorities, through its director of public relations unit, Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, said the true side of what happened had been told by the SSS which claimed the victims were suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.

He said: “It is not true; no army general ordered the killing of anyone at Apo. We have made contacts to find out. According to the SSS spokeswoman, Marilyn Ogar, the SSS got intelligence information from two arrested suspected members of the Boko Haram sect who told them that they were having some weapons buried under an incomplete building at Apo area. The SSS went there with the military; on their arrival, some people from the building opened fire on them and they fired back. A shootout ensued and some of them were killed while some were wounded. But some of those that were wounded later turned the story around, claiming that a general ordered the killing. It is not true. Marilyn took some journalists to the scene and allowed them to speak with the suspects. No soldier would order the killing of any unarmed people unless if he is crazy.”