Shocking confession of a 14-year-old girl narrates how she was volunteered by her own parents to take part in a suicide bomb attack. The girl was arrested with explosives strapped around her body.
(Please beware of some offensive pictures)
The girl who was identified as Zahra’u Babangida, was arrested in Kano on December 10 following a twin suicide bombing at Kanti Kwari market that left 10 persons dead. Earlier, the police had denied arresting any female bomber after the arrest was reported.
When the 14-year-old was presented to the journalist to narrate how she was forced to take part in the attack, She said that it was her parents, who were sympathizers of the Boko haram sect, offered her to them. She was then taken to an insurgent hideout in a forest near the town of Gidan Zana in Kano state.
She said that one of the alleged militant leader asked her whether she knew what a suicide bombing was.
“They said, ‘Can you do it?’ I said no.
“They said, ‘You will go to heaven if you do it.’ I said ‘No I can’t.’ They said they would shoot me or throw me into a dungeon,” Zahra’u told journalists.
The girl’s parents was no way to be found as there was equally no way to independently verify her stories without lawyers or journalists.
Police said they had instructed her to tell the full story to boost public awareness about those responsible for the December 10 attack and others.
Faced with the threat of death, Zahra’u said she finally agreed to take part in the attack but “never had any intention of doing it.”
Several days later, Zahra’u said, she and three other girls, all wearing explosives, were brought to the Kantin Kwari market by unidentified men.
Zahra’u said she was injured when one of the girls detonated her bomb and then she fled the scene, ending up at a hospital on the outskirts of Kano where she was discovered to be carrying explosives.
The sect has continually and increasingly used female suicide bombers, including teenagers as part of their mission. Kano has had a larger share of the insurgencies, having seen four deadly attacks within one week, and other surrounding states like Bauchi, Gombe, and Niger. All having had their shares of this gory happenings.
Experts say the group has used girls as bombers to demonstrate the range of tactics they have available to sow fear across Nigeria.
If confirmed, Zahra’u’s story would be the first known case of parents volunteering their daughter to take part in a deadly attack.
Violence in northern Nigeria has intensified in recent months, raising security fears ahead of February 14 elections.
The Police Command in Kano had earlier confirmed the arrest to newsmen.
The Police Commissioner in the state, Mr Aderenle Shinaba also said the police had apprehended one of the people, who brought the girl to Kano from Bauchi.
Shinaba said the vehicle in which they brought the girl from Bauchi was now with security agents.
He said the girl was arrested at one of the hospitals in Kano, where she went to seek for medical treatment, following injuries after the blast.
The commissioner said seven explosives and power source were recovered from the bomber.
Shinaba, who called for the support and cooperation of the public, assured that the police would treat information given to it with confidentiality.
He commend residents for their support and cooperation to security operatives in the state.
“’We will encourage people to work with us to ensure that peace prevailed in the state,’’ he added.
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