Suspected Boko Haram Bomber Arrested In Damaturu Confesses To Maiduguri Mosque Attack, Says He Was Sent To Spy On Soldiers

Damaturu, Yobe State– A suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber, identified as Ibrahim Muhammed, has been arrested in Damaturu, Yobe State, after local vigilantes apprehended him while allegedly on a spying mission.

In a video obtained by Eyes, Ibrahim, who spoke in Hausa, confessed that he and other members of the terror group were responsible for a bomb explosion at a mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State, which killed worshippers.

The suspect said he hails from Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State and belongs to the Michika ethnic group.

“My name is Ibrahim Muhammed. I am from Michika,” he said in the video. “I came to this town to spy.”

According to him, the mission was to monitor the activities of soldiers and local vigilante groups in Damaturu and relay the information back to Maiduguri.

Ibrahim claimed that two bombs were planted at a mosque near Kalumari in Maiduguri, adding that the operation was ordered by Boko Haram commanders identified as Adam and Abubakar.

“Our leader was the one who gave us the bombs to plant,” he said. “They stay around Beki-Duse and Mubi. They are Boko Haram. They were the ones who chose the mosque.”

He further alleged that the targeted mosque was newly built and occupied by members of the Izala Islamic movement.

Explaining what brought him to Damaturu, the suspect said he arrived on the evening before his arrest and attempted to find a place to sleep.

“When I came, I saw some children and asked them where I could sleep. A man told me to go and meet some people,” he said. “We went to a field and spread a mat, but a man chased us with a stick and we ran away.”

He added that vigilantes later instructed them to return and pack their belongings. “While we were putting on our shoes, they chased us and arrested us,” he said.

In another revelation, Ibrahim claimed that an additional explosive device had been left at Tashan Joni area of Maiduguri, raising fresh security concerns in the state capital.

Borno and Yobe states have remained epicentres of Boko Haram and ISWAP activities, despite repeated assurances by authorities that the insurgents have been largely degraded.