Boko Haram: Bauchi Police Arrest, Release Islamic Scholar

By Jackson Udom - 05.09.2009

The Bauchi Command recently arrested a renowned Islamic scholar and representative of the Bauchi State chapter of the Islamic Ummah, a sect that has its headquarters in Zaria, Ahmed Yusuf Yashi, over suspicion that some of his students were members of the radical Islamic group, Boko Haramu.

He was, however, released after a thorough investigation. While narrating his ordeal in the hands of the police to newsmen, Yashi explained that the police stormed his nursery and primary school at Shagari area of the state and arrested five of his students.

“I was sitting right in front of my house around 3:00 p.m. on that day when I saw one of the students with a mobile policeman who came along with other mobile policeman in three pickup vans.

“He asked if I knew the student and whether that was my house, and I answered in the affirmative. He said they were going to arrest me and search my House,” he narrated.

The Islamic scholar also said the policeman responded that he had a warrant for his arrest as well as a warrant to search his house. “About seven of them entered the house and searched everywhere ––bedrooms, drawers, toilets, but they did not find anything. They just took my laptop. The others, there were about 15 of them, stood and blocked the street in front of my house,” he stated.

He said, from there, they took him to the state CID at the police command where he met the other arrested students. “The police said they arrested my students because they were wearing uniforms that looked like those of the Boko Haram and had catapults with them. They asked if we were members of the group and I said “no”. They arrested the students wearing our ceremonial uniforms during Maulud –white and green khaki. I explained that the catapults were given to them to sell to hunters in the villages by somebody and that they were not meant for violence,” Yashi said.