How Kabiru Sokoto escaped from police custody
The Senate on Tuesday gave a blow by blow account of how suspected mastermind of Christmas Day bombing of St Theresa’s Church, Madalla, Kabiru Umar (alias Kabiru Sokoto), escaped from police custody.
Sokoto, who was arrested on January 14 dramatically escaped from police custody less than 24 hours while he was being taken to Abaji, a suburb of Abuja, to search his house.
Worried by the disappearance of the high profile Boko Haram suspect, the Senate empanelled its Committee on Police Affairs to probe the circumstance surrounding the escape of the suspect.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Paulinus Nwagu, who presented the report of the investigative committee, gave graphic details of how Sokoto disappeared.
Nwagu said that the findings of the committee were based on interactions with the National Security Adviser, Minister of Police Affairs, Chairman, Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police.
According to him, “Police intelligence revealed that prior to his arrest on January 14, 2011, Kabiru Sokoto had been in the check list of Boko Haram sects’ members.
Sokoto was reported to have been noticed within the vicinity of Snake Island, Lagos and left Lagos sometimes on December 13, 2011 and disappeared from surveillance monitoring until January 11, 2012. He was later traced to Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory.
The report reads, “Police detectives traced him from Abaji to Abuja on the same date and further traced him to Asokoro-Abuja where he was finally apprehended at about 0240 hours (2.40am) on January 14, 2012 at the Borno State Governor’s lodge at Iro Dan Musa Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
“The arrest was conducted by a combined team of police officers and men comprising operatives from the Force Analytical Tracking and Intelligence Centre as well as Combat Teams from the Police Mobile Force totaling 58 officers and men.
“The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Commissioner of Police Zakari Biu, who was in charge of handling terrorist cases, in charge of suspects and general follow-up, for further investigation.
“Investigation activities of the police led detectives comprising five officers to visit the residence of the suspect in Abaji to conduct a search on January 15, 2012.
“On arrival at the residence of the suspect at Bulletin Quarters, Abaji, the team met one Adamu Salihu, the son of the Onah of Abaji, the traditional ruler of Abaji in the FCT who was a neighbour of the suspect.
“ Salihu, who was later discovered to be a close associate of Kabiru Sokoto as well as a suspected member of Boko Haram, suddenly went into his room, came out with a copy of the Holy Quran, cited Quranic quotes and with a loud shout of “Allahu- Akbar (God is Great)”, mobilized nearby youths who attacked the police with hard objects and forcefully took over the suspect whom they whisked away to an undisclosed location.
“Immediate efforts to recover the suspect indicated that the duo of one Jibrin Aliyu alias Kaska and one Abdullahi Sidi alias Bamanga had informed one Mohammed Gambo that the principal suspect was with Jibrin Aliyu,” the report said.
The Senate on Tuesday gave a blow by blow account of how suspected mastermind of Christmas Day bombing of St Theresa’s Church, Madalla, Kabiru Umar (alias Kabiru Sokoto), escaped from police custody.
Sokoto, who was arrested on January 14 dramatically escaped from police custody less than 24 hours while he was being taken to Abaji, a suburb of Abuja, to search his house.
Worried by the disappearance of the high profile Boko Haram suspect, the Senate empanelled its Committee on Police Affairs to probe the circumstance surrounding the escape of the suspect.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Paulinus Nwagu, who presented the report of the investigative committee, gave graphic details of how Sokoto disappeared.
Nwagu said that the findings of the committee were based on interactions with the National Security Adviser, Minister of Police Affairs, Chairman, Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police.
According to him, “Police intelligence revealed that prior to his arrest on January 14, 2011, Kabiru Sokoto had been in the check list of Boko Haram sects’ members.
Sokoto was reported to have been noticed within the vicinity of Snake Island, Lagos and left Lagos sometimes on December 13, 2011 and disappeared from surveillance monitoring until January 11, 2012. He was later traced to Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory.
The report reads, “Police detectives traced him from Abaji to Abuja on the same date and further traced him to Asokoro-Abuja where he was finally apprehended at about 0240 hours (2.40am) on January 14, 2012 at the Borno State Governor’s lodge at Iro Dan Musa Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
“The arrest was conducted by a combined team of police officers and men comprising operatives from the Force Analytical Tracking and Intelligence Centre as well as Combat Teams from the Police Mobile Force totaling 58 officers and men.
“The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Commissioner of Police Zakari Biu, who was in charge of handling terrorist cases, in charge of suspects and general follow-up, for further investigation.
“Investigation activities of the police led detectives comprising five officers to visit the residence of the suspect in Abaji to conduct a search on January 15, 2012.
“On arrival at the residence of the suspect at Bulletin Quarters, Abaji, the team met one Adamu Salihu, the son of the Onah of Abaji, the traditional ruler of Abaji in the FCT who was a neighbour of the suspect.
“ Salihu, who was later discovered to be a close associate of Kabiru Sokoto as well as a suspected member of Boko Haram, suddenly went into his room, came out with a copy of the Holy Quran, cited Quranic quotes and with a loud shout of “Allahu- Akbar (God is Great)”, mobilized nearby youths who attacked the police with hard objects and forcefully took over the suspect whom they whisked away to an undisclosed location.
“Immediate efforts to recover the suspect indicated that the duo of one Jibrin Aliyu alias Kaska and one Abdullahi Sidi alias Bamanga had informed one Mohammed Gambo that the principal suspect was with Jibrin Aliyu,” the report said.
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