An acclaimed Islamic fundamentalist, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, currently detained by the State Security Service (SSS), said yesterday that a certain Senator and some politicians in the North are behind Boko Haram.

The alleged sect’s spokesman was paraded by the SSS in Abuja. He said that he was named Usman Al-Zawahiri to conceal his identity for security reasons.

The Islamist sect had claimed responsibility for the bombing of the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja which killed 24 people and injured several staffers of the world body. It also claimed that it had a hand in last Sallah (Eid-el-kabir)terror attacks on Yobe State which claimed over 150 lives.

In his confession, Konduga said that he was a student under the late leader of Boko Haram, the late Mohammed Yusuf, averring that they were political thugs, recruited by some northern politicians, and that they were faring well before things fell apart between them and they resorted to attacking the state.
Alleging also that the sect was enjoying great sponsorship and patronage from these politicians, the alleged spokesman of the sect who, said that he was recently suspended by the Islamic terror group, which suspected him of giving information to security agencies, disclosed that the sect now has three official spokespersons, Abu Kaka, Abu Darda and Abu Zaid.

However, in her address, the Deputy Director, Press of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, who told correspondents that security agencies never enjoyed any privileged information from Konduga before his arrest, said that he was picked up on November 3, at about 2030 hours at Gwange area of Maiduguri, Borno State, by a joint security operation.

Stating that he had made several revealing confessions, Ogar, who said that Konduga also confessed to being a former political thug operating under a group widely known as ECOMOG, said that his arrest, “further confirms the Service’s position that some of the Boko Haram extremists have political patronage and sponsorship. This is more as Al-Zawahiri has so far made valuable confessions in this regard.”
Ogar further said that Konduga confessed that, “he was recruited by a political party stalwart in Maiduguri, Borno State, that following the compulsory registration of all SIMs nationwide, he was asked to steal a SIM which he used in sending threat text messages.

“That the pseudo name, Usman Al-Zawahiri, was given to him by the said politician to portray him as an extremist as well as conceal his true identity.
“That one of his benefactors promised to pay him N10 million to work for his party, but by stint of fate, he sponsor died on his way to deliver the part payment of N5 million to Al-Zawahiri.
“That consequent upon this, suspect claimed a serving member of the National Assembly took over the running of his activities.

“That he (Senator) was behind the threat text messages sent to the justice of the Election Petition Tribunal in Maiduguri. His objective was to ensure that the tribunal sacks the present government in Borno State.
“That he was also behind other threat messages sent to Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Governor Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Ambassador Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Justice Sabo Adamu (Chairman of the Election Petition Tribunal in Borno State).
“That most of the threat messages he sent to Justice Adamu, were scripted and relayed to him by the National Assembly member.

“That the same legislator promised to send him some telephone numbers of members of the Galtimari Committee on Security in the North-East, before he (Al-Zawahiri) was apprehended.
“That the telephone number and content of the text messages sent to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice were also given to him by the legislator to compel him (AGF) to influence the judgment of the tribunal against the government in Borno State.”
Meanwhile, Ogar said that analysis on Al-Zawahiri’s phone had confirmed constant communication between him and the legislator.

Thus, she reiterated the Service’s commitment to address the current threats posed by the Boko Haram and other forms of fundamentalism in the country, including the dimensions of political patronage and sponsorship of extremist and violent groups.
It would be recalled that security agencies had fingered some Northern lawmakers as being behind the terror group

Source: http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/nov/22/national-22-11-2011-001.html