* Accuses sect of armed robbery, looting
* Cameroonians, Nigeriens, Chadians among group’s fighters
A suspected member of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has rubbished the group and its activities as un-Islamic, especially the resort to armed banditry, looting and murder of innocent people.
Bukar Modu, who was paraded yesterday in Maiduguri, also said extremists from neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroun are working for the group to undermine Nigeria’s security.
Modu, 22, according to security agents, was arrested on October 6 in the heat of the sect’s early morning attack on Muslim worshippers in Damboa, Borno state.
He said religion has little to do with the Boko Haram insurgency and his leaders “had never once preached Islam to us.”
He said the name of Allah was invoked only when “we are running out of food supply in the bush. Our leaders will assemble us and declare that we would be embarking on a mission for God and Islam.
“I did not see any act of religion in there. We are just killing people, stealing and suffering in the bush,” he added.
The sect has been blamed for the killings of hundreds of civilians, mainly Muslims, in recent months.
He said of the operation that led to his capture: “We went on a mission to attack people in Damboa on Oct. 6, a few days to the last Sallah celebration.
“We shot many people but I was also shot in the leg during the operation; I later became unconscious.
`My people took me away at the end of the operation but they decided to dump me in a nearby bush because they thought I was dead.
“I regained consciousness in the morning before I was apprehended by security agents, who provided food for me and took care of my bullet wounds,” he said.
Modu said that he was recruited into the sect about a year ago by his cousin who “used to keep his gun in our compound in Maiduguri.”
He added: “One day, he said that he was not comfortable with me being outside the sect because I knew all his secrets.
“He gave me two options: to either join the sect or be killed. So, I had no other option than to join the sect.”
Modu said that he was given an “express training” on the handling of AK 47 rifle as soon as he joined the sect and “We were always given orders to attack individuals without questioning until we finally relocated to Marte in Marte Local Government Area of Borno during the middle of this year.
Modu said that his group comprised about 150 militants, who took refuge in a nearby bush after the military invasion of Marte camp.
“We were kept in the bush by our commanders; sometimes, we survived on filthy water because we did not have access to safe water and we barely had something to eat.”
Modu said that many of the “foot soldiers” of the Boko Haram sect who wanted to abscond could not do so because of the fear of being caught and executed.
“Our commanders usually conduct roll-calls on a daily basis to prevent anyone from running away; once you are caught, the penalty is death,” he said.
Modu said that many “foot soldiers”, who tried to escape at the camp, were summarily executed.
“Any time we carry out an attack in a place, we steal food, drugs, money and everything we need.
“Sometimes, I feel guilty of committing crimes against God but our commanders always tell us that it is God’s work that we are doing.
“It is a terrible thing to be a member of the sect but many foot soldiers like me cannot leave for fear of being killed.”
His statement on the involvement of Chadian, Nigerien and Camerounian extremists in the Boko Haram uprising tallies with reports from politicians and survivors of attacks, underlining threat to the country’s unity.
Justice Minister Mohammed Adoke said last week that Boko Haram is being influenced from abroad.
“Nigeria is experiencing the impact of externally-induced internal security challenges, manifesting in the activities of militant insurgents and organised crime groups which has led to the violation of the human rights of many Nigerians,” he said while defending the country’s record at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Modu, walking on crutches because of a bullet wound suffered when he was captured in a recent attack, said he was forced to join Boko Haram but that the movement has many willing and educated members.
He said:”We have qualified doctors who are active members. They were not forced to be in the group, they are more elderly than us.
“We have mechanics, we have welders, we have carpenters, we have professional drivers, we have butchers, security experts, gun instructors and so on,” he said, displaying his lack of education by his poor use of the Hausa language.
The prisoner, who wore military fatigue trousers similar to those of his captors – many recent Boko Haram attacks have been perpetrated by fighters wearing Nigerian army uniforms – said foreigners fight in his group of 150 but did not say how many.
“We have no members from Mali or Libya that I know of. But we do have members from Chad, Niger and Cameroon who actively participate in most of our attacks.”
He said he and many other fighters would like to surrender but are scared to do so.
“Each time they declare an attack, I feel sick and terrified, so were most of my younger colleagues but we dare not resist our leaders: They are deadly, our punishment for betrayal is slaughtering of our necks.”
According to him, Boko Haram had moved on from targeting security forces and politicians to attacks on soft targets such as students, villagers and travelers because of the formation of vigilante groups “who now reveal our identities and even arrest us.”
The Nigerian Army last Friday said its men killed 95 members of the sect in two separate operations in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital and two villages near Maiduguri on Thursday.
74 were killed in the first operation, an air and ground assault on training camps of the sect in Borno while the remaining 21 were killed when suspected fighters of the sect invaded Damaturu.
