*Eyewitnesses recount experience of sect’s attack on Bauchi Prison

By Taye Obateru

Breaking one’s fast is a moment to savour for the respite it provides before another fasting day

commences.

For many residents of Bauchi, who had just broken their fast last Tuesday and had said or were having their evening prayers, any form of commotion or upheaval was the last thing on their minds. They were therefore jolted by the sudden strike by members of the Boko Haram sect who stormed Bauchi Central Prison. As they recounted, it was like watching an action-packed movie, but this time around, they became part of the crowd of actors, caught by circumstances to act in a drama in which they were never part of the rehearsals.

Soldiers on patrol in Kano

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the Boko Haram members were on a mission to free their members standing trial over the last insurgence by the sect and were remanded in prison. They were said to have vowed that their members would not spend the Eid-el Fitri celebration in prison. Unlike in the past when members spotted long beards as a symbol of membership of the sect, they decided to make their beards short or were clean shaven to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

In a well-rehearsed operation, the sect members reportedly took positions at various praying points around the prison mingling with other Muslims and concealing their weapons in their flowing attires. Like well trained combatants, they sprang into action as soon as they got their cue and turned the Bauchi Prison upside down. Four people including a police man and a soldier were confirmed dead at the end of the attack while four others were hospitalized.

721 prison inmates including about 123 awaiting trial members of the Boko Haram sect were freed. Some of those caught in the upheaval told Sunday Vanguard that it was an awe-inspiring and chilling experience.

Malam Sanusi Ahmed, called it a dramatic experience: “It was about 7 O’clock in the evening, I was at Yankari Transport Corporation which is not too far from the prison to collect some items which a driver brought from Yankari for me. I decided to have my evening prayers there and I was there with others and we were saying the prayers not knowing that some of those with us were Boko Haram sect members. All of a sudden, we started hearing gun shots and initially we thought it was young boys who had already started celebrating Sallah with knock outs (fire crackers).

“We were still wondering why they would start the celebration so early since Sallah was still about two days away when the seriousness of the situation dawned on us. The gunshots boomed more and more and people started running into the premises of the corporation. We realized we were in danger but we did not realize that many of those with us were part of the attackers. As the prayers continued, the sect members in our midst got up and brought out their guns from under their babanrigas and started shooting. They told us not to panic assuring us that they were not out for any of us there but were on a mission. Panic stricken, some of us knelt down while some lied down flat.

“I remained calm as I realized I was in their midst and there was no way of escape. The only alternative was to remain there. The shooting continued for about one-and-a-half to two hours but the Boko Haram members kept to their promise of not attacking any of us. They kept repeating that they were on a mission but as at then, we did not know that they were attacking the prison. It was later that we discovered that they were members of the Boko Haram sect. This was after they made a phone call asking if their members in the prison had escaped. As the shooting continued, we crawled out of the premises and ran into nearby houses from where we found our way out of the danger zone.

“There was nothing to make anyone suspicious of them. They wore normal dresses and did not spot their trademark long beards. But by the time they sprang into action, it was clear that they were well trained. The guns looked very sophisticated and they handled them with expertise like combatants. It was an unforgettable experience.”

Another eyewitness, who identified himself as Musa Abubakar said: “We had just finished breaking our fast and said our prayers then we started hearing gun shots. The shooting increased and I saw people running helter-skelter. I quickened my steps towards my house and I stopped one of those running trying to find out from him what was happening. He told me he was not sure but that he learnt that the problem had to do with the Boko Haram people. He said he heard someone saying they have come to attack the prison yard to set their members free. He ran and left me on the spot as I tried to ask him further questions.

I took to my heels too as the gunshots continued for some time. There was confusion everywhere as people ran in and out of houses and wherever they thought was safe. Everybody was afraid of getting hit by stray bullets and nobody was sure if they were attacking just the prison or were targeting other people too. Somehow, I managed to get home. We felt slightly relieved when we got reports that their main target was the prison and that they were not out to attack civilians.

“We heard that they were out to secure the release of their members from the prison because they do not want them to spend sallah there. So, that was their mission and I think they have succeeded in doing that. We were very scared but fortunately for me, all my family members were safe and no-one was hurt in the attack.”

Brief background of Boko Haram in Bauchi

Following the uprising by the Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri and intelligence reports that the membership had spread to Bauchi State, the police in July 2009 started investigating the group over reports that it was stockpiling arms. Several leaders of the sect were arrested, sparking off deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces which led to the death of an estimated 700 people.

The term Boko Haram which literally means Western or non Islamic Education is a sin, is a Nigerian radical Islamist group that seeks the complete implementation of the Sharia legal system in Nigeria.

Founded around 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, the Boko Haram sect relocated to Kanamma, Yobe state in 2004, where it set up a base called “ Afghanistan ”, which was reportedly used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers. Leader of the sect, Muhammed Yusuf reportedly denounce democracy and the secular education system, which he vowed to eradicate to pave way for a truly Islamic system by all means.

Boko Haram opposes not only western education, but western culture and modern science as well. Following last year’s disturbances by the group, state governments, religious leaders and parents embarked on aggressive enlightenment of the youth on the position of Islam to seeking knowledge affirming that it was not against Western education.

The enlightenment was thought to have succeeded and nothing was heard from the group again until last Tuesday’s strike by the sect.