A suspected Boko Haram operative, Ibrahim Mohammed, has confessed that he was paid N100,000 to bomb a mosque with its worshippers in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The confession was disclosed on Wednesday by counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama on his X handle.
According to Makama, security sources revealed to him that troops of Operation Hadin Kai arrested Ibrahim in collaboration with local hunters in Yobe State.
“At about 2:30 p.m. on December 29, Ibrahim was arrested in Damaturu by local hunters working with Operation Hadin Kai during a raid on a suspected hideout inhabited by Almajirai. Security sources said his strange presence among the group raised suspicion, leading to his arrest and interrogation,” Makama wrote.
Quoting security sources, Makama said that the suspect admitted involvement in the December 24 bombing at the Gamboru Market Mosque in Maiduguri, which claimed five lives and injured 32 worshippers.
During interrogation, Ibrahim said the attack was carried out on the directive of Boko Haram commanders operating between Adamawa State and the Mandara Mountains.
“My name is Ibrahim from Michika in Adamawa. We came to Maiduguri to plant bombs in Izala Mosque. We were sent by our leaders, Adamu and Abubakar, who gave us two IEDs to plant in the mosque,” he said.
He explained that they took advantage of times when mosques were empty to plant the explosives.
“We came after Zuhur and Asr prayers when the mosque was empty. We entered, pretending to pray. My colleague was digging to plant the IED in the middle of the mosque while I was digging by the side,” Ibrahim said.
According to him, the devices were timed ahead of Maghrib prayers. “As Muslim faithful gathered to pray Maghrib, after the first raka’at, we detonated the bomb. We set the timing for five minutes. Shortly after, I ran to the market area,” he added.
In a disturbing revelation, the suspect said he returned to the scene after the explosion and pretended to be a civilian volunteer.
“When I returned to the mosque, they were evacuating dead bodies. I helped them to convey the corpses and injured people in emergency vehicles,” he confessed.
Ibrahim also disclosed that suicide bombing had become a paid assignment within the terror group. “I was paid money ranging from N70,000 to N100,000 per mission,” he said, adding that he later regretted his actions.
Security sources further revealed to Makama that Ibrahim was part of a wider terror cell deployed to carry out coordinated attacks across the North-East, involving elements of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), Ansaru and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
“It was gathered that a Boko Haram team led by a notorious IED expert, Munzir Abu Ziyadah, allegedly prepared up to 10 person-borne improvised explosive devices from the Ali Ngulde camp axis for the planned attacks,” Makama revealed.
After the Gamboru Market Mosque bombing, Ibrahim reportedly moved to Yobe State for further assignments.
“After the mission, I proceeded to Yobe for another assignment, to carry out a recce on military positions and hunters’ groups for possible attacks on new recruits,” he said.
He also disclosed that other suicide bombers had been deployed to Damaturu to attack mosques and markets.
Makama quoted him as saying he was also assigned to carry out another attack at a new Izala Mosque near Tashan Joni, Maiduguri.
“I dropped my own suicide vest or bag around the Izala Mosque because I couldn’t access the mosque due to strict security checks,” he said.
Following the confession, troops of Operation Hadin Kai, supported by police explosive ordnance disposal teams, were deployed to the area identified by the suspect.
Although no explosive device has been recovered, security sources warned that an unsuspecting individual may have picked up the bag.
