Terror suspect lived in Kaduna village illegally - Local chief
They stormed the village around 1 am without any notice in a convoy of vehicles, including Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and headed straight to the three-room-apartment where the suspect was living.
A witness, who pleaded anonymity, said shortly after the arrival of the military there were sporadic gunshots that lasted for nearly an hour.
“Soldiers and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrived in a convoy of vehicles and surrounded the area where the house was located. Suddenly, there were sounds of gunshots which lasted for some time. The security men did not harass anybody but around 4 am they asked all the residents to assemble in one house where they addressed us,” the witness narrated.
“They told us that the Baban Safiya was a suspected terrorist and that they were in the village to arrest him but he had escaped after an exchange of gunfire with them. He had also shot dead one of the security personnel and injured one in the hand. I didn’t see the remains of the dead man but I saw one injured man,” he added.
The witness said soldiers instructed them to remain where they were until they searched all the houses around and no one disobeyed. They conducted a house-to-house search and thereafter asked the people to return to their respective houses.
He said Baban Safiya was living with his brother who recently got married to a lady from Bauchi State: “His younger brother got married last week. Neither he nor his elder brother was arrested but all their wives were taken away by security forces.”
He said the suspect had a lot of visitors, mostly young men but they hardly stayed for a long period with him: “They made a lot of noise in the house and you could hear them from outside whenever they came.”
Security agencies have yet to comment on the operation.
The village head, Suleiman Mohammed, said the suspect lived in the village without permission and without his knowledge. He said new comers in the village are usually interviewed and until their background was ascertained, they were not allowed to stay.
“I have a register containing the names of strangers living in the village. I personally interview any new tenant to establish his antecedents before he settles. But I never saw the suspect; he sneaked into the village without my knowledge. The house he stayed in was built by one woman who sold it to a man last year, according to my findings. It was that man that rented his house to the suspect,” Mohammed said.
The village head said it was rather regrettable that a terrorist was found living in the community, adding that “many people have sympathised with us over what happened.”
He said henceforth, no landlord will be allowed to admit a tenant into his property without the knowledge of the traditional authorities and that strangers would be monitored.