Rigasa bomber Ahmed Mohammed with injuries sustained while assembling bomb in Rigasa
Yusuf Arrigasiyyu
The so-called rebuttal of our reports ignored two important facts. One is that citizen reporters in the Rigasa area who want change were part of the sources for the original news report by SaharaReporters. The other is that the correspondent of SaharaReporters carried out a thorough investigation, including interviews with top security sources familiar with the presence and activities of Boko Haram.
Consistent with our reports, it is part of the official record that the sect indeed maintains a cell in the Rigasa community. Former Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Tambari Yabo Muhammad, stated so as far back as 2010.
In addition, below are excerpts from a media report in which the former CP explained how he foiled moves by a Boko Haram sect in Rigasa to strike on Sallah Day:
“On his part, the State police commissioner, Mohammed, seized the occasion to disclose how a plan by the militant Islamic sect, popularly known as 'Boko Haram,' to strike in Kaduna was averted by the Kaduna Police Command.
“According to him, members of the militant group were said to have gathered at a hide-out in Rigasa area of Kaduna metropolis and mapped out the Rigasa police station for destruction and had planned to strike on the day of the just concluded Sallah celebration…The police boss however disclosed that half of Rigasa populations are from the neighboring Niger Republic, who came into the country freely because of the ECOWAS free movement being enjoyed by its members. ‘I was resting in my house on Sallah Day, only me and my God, when two young men came to my house and said, 'CP, if we don't give you this information, Allah will judge us. ''These two men are between 24 -25 years of age. They said some Boko Haram group had planned to burn down the Rigasa Police station on Sallah Day, and this is where they are hiding. 'I thanked them for the information, and immediately, I beefed up the security and my men combed Rigasa, Hayan Danmani and other adjourning areas to see where they were hiding”
http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/35020/1/northern-youths-rally-for-saraki-ribadu-in-kaduna.html
In addition, further evidence of the presence of the sect in Rigasa came from the confession of one Mohammed Ahmed. A resident of Rigasa, he survived an April 2009 bomb explosion in Kaduna, while assembling a bomb in Rigasa. His confession statement went thus:
“My name is Mohammed Ahmed. I am from Rigasa, Kaduna. I am 25 years old and left secondary school in SS2 at Government Secondary School, Rigasa. My friend came from Kano, though he is from Samaru, Zaria. I had worked at one yoghurt factory in Gadon Kaya where I met my friend, Yahaya. I later returned to Kaduna to sell motor spare parts at Sabon Panteka.
"So, when he came to Kaduna recently, he called me and we met at Mahuta village since he arrived from Kano. While we were discussing some people came in a vehicle, one foreigner and another man who I believe is a Nigerian. They drove a black Mercedes Benz 190 and they called him and subsequently gave him something. When he returned I asked him, where did you know them, and he answered that what they brought in two parcels are bombs and they were being sent from a terror gang abroad. On Thursday night when we were talking, it just exploded and my friend Yahaya died. My telephone number is 07029419205. I have left everything to God and all that I need is prayers."
The link to Mohammed Ahmed’s confession along with photographs is available at http://allafrica.com/stories/201104110880.html
Rigasa area has also witnessed numerous killings consistent with the method of Boko Haram. Among the killings:
On March 1, 2011, two policemen on duty at the home of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) were killed by the Boko Haram sect: http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/35020/1/northern-youths-rally-for-saraki-ribadu-in-kaduna.htm
In March, 2012, about 20 police and immigration officers as well as prison warders, a lecturer and other paramilitary personnel were killed in the area by suspected Boko Haram sect members. The links to that report are at:
http://www.punchng.com/news/gunmen-kill-policeman-lecturer-in-kaduna/
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/3948-boko-haram-kills-police-officer-in-k...
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i...
http://www.pilotafrica.com/2012/04/12/boko-haram-militants-kill-cadet-in...
http://weeklytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9...
SaharaReporters stands behind the accuracy of our report regarding the presence of a cell of Boko Haram in Rigasa. Our reports are based on facts and thorough investigation. The likes of Yusuf Arrigasiyyu should look for better ways of helping their community rather than playing politics with the facts and championing self-serving interests.
He ought to know that we have reliable sources in the community. They include concerned elders and youth, who in their quest for change, are eager to engage with us, providing real time information about the needless killings by militants.
SaharaReporters deplores extrajudicial killings of innocent citizens by security agencies on the slightest provocation or under the excuse that a particular neighborhood harbors criminal elements. As such, we will continue to monitor and report the excesses of security agents as we have done in the past.
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