A youth vigilante group,
popularly called “the Civilian
JTF’’, said it apprehended two
women attempting to smuggle
assault weapons into the
Monday market in Maiduguri on
Sunday.
Eyewitnesses told journalists that
the women, who concealed the
weapons in their dresses, were
nabbed at the Bulabulin
entrance gate of the market.
One of the witnesses, Modu
Bulama, a trader, said that they
were in the market when they
heard noise from the gate.
“We rushed to scene, but on
getting there, we saw two
women in veil with assault
weapons,’’ he said.
Mr. Bulama said that each of the
women concealed an AK 47 rifle,
a pistol and some items believed
to be Improvise Explosive Devise
(IED) in their veil.
A member of the vigilante,
Usman Ibrahim, corroborated
Mr. Bulama’s claim, adding: “we
were on a routine checking at
the gate when these women
came with heavy veil.
“At first we did not bother to
look at them, but we realised
that one of them was shivering,
we said something must be
wrong,’’ Mr. Ibrahim said.
He said that when they were
searched, “‘we found that each
of them concealed an AK 47
rifle, a pistol and IED in their veil.
“We were surprised at the
discovery, so we took them to
officials of the Joint Task Force
(JTF) on Operation Restore
Order (ORO) for investigations,”
Mr. Ibrahim said.
The JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir
Musa, could not be contacted
for comment, but a senior
military officer, who spoke on
condition anonymity, confirmed
the story.
The official said the JTF was
already investigating the case.
(NAN)