There has been a twist in the claims by Nigeria’s
intelligence agency, the SSS that its men engaged in a shootout with armed Boko
Haram elements early Friday, in Abuja, as survivors and residents of the area
disputed the account.
They said there was no shootout. But rather, they
contended, armed men in military uniform stormed the uncompleted building on
Bamanga Tukur Road, located behind the Apo Legislative Quarters, when the
occupants were asleep and opened fire on them.
Seven persons reportedly died and many were
injured. The SSS also arrested another 12 people.
Some residents of the street who spoke to P.M.NEWS
disputed the claims of DSS about the identity of the dead and the other
occupants of the building.
The residents said the men occupying the uncompleted
house are squatters, most of whom are engaged in different forms of menial jobs
and hawking.
The residents, who demanded that their identity
should be protected also said the squatters paid N200 per day to a security
guard identified as Joseph as a daily rent.
They also said there has been no form of security
breach in the area to warrant the claims of the intelligence agency that the
victims, most of whom are in their early 20s were members of the militant sect.
Nigeria intelligence agency, the Department of
State Security Services had in a statement today claimed that it arrested 12
members of the Boko Haram during a raid on an uncompleted building located at
Bamanga Tukur Street at Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja early on Friday
morning.
In a statement by the Deputy Director, Public
Relations, DSS, Marilyn Ogar, the agency said the operation “was sequel to
information obtained from two Boko Haram elements Kamal Abdullahi and Mohammed
Adamu, who had earlier been arrested for terrorist activities.
They led the security team to uncompleted buildings
where arms were purported to have been buried underground.”
Ogar added that as the team of security officers
commenced digging for the arms, they came under heavy gunfire attack by other
Boko Haram elements within the area, which prompted immediate response from the
security team.
“As a result, some persons were injured and twelve
others have been arrested in connection with the incident, and are making
useful statements”.
Remains of some of those killed were seen lying on
the ground during a visit to the area early this morning.
The police also confirmed that seven persons were
killed in the shooting.
Sunday Odukoya, the Assistant Commissioner of
Police in-Charge of Abuja Metro Area Command, confirmed the killings to newsmen
on Friday.
When asked if he was aware of claims that the men
were killed by soldiers, the Police officer said: “I have not heard something
like that.
“But the issue is when a matter happens like this,
we do investigation, people will tell us what happened, we will gather more
intelligence,’’ he added.
One Malam Huwal Umaru who claimed to be the leader
of labourers staying in the uncompleted building said seven of his workers were
killed and many were injured. He added the uniformed men also went away with 15
of his members.
He added that there were over 100 young men staying
in the uncompleted building and that they have been staying there for over a year
without any serious incident.
Umaru said the men in military uniform who came in
two vehicles started shooting immediately they got to the front of the
uncompleted building.
He added that it was the sound of the guns that
roused those staying in the uncompleted building from sleep.
According to him, in the ensuing confusion, some of
the residents of the building began to run toward their attackers and were
shot.
Another resident of the area however admitted that
the uniformed men were shot at by one of the occupant of the building with a
locally made pistol, but described the claims by DSS that its men came under
heavy attack as false.
At Asokoro General Hospital, 17 of those who
sustained gunshot injuries during the attack have been admitted for treatment.
Though most of them can only speak Hausa, Ibrahim
Bala, 20 told P.M. NEWS that some men in military uniform invaded the building
in four vehicles and opened fire on those living in the uncompleted building.
He added that most of the occupants who took to
their heels on sighting the men in military uniform were shot as they were
running away.
Consistent with this claim, P.M. NEWS also observed
that the survivors were shot at the back, mostly in the buttocks area.
This was also observed in the case of some of the
remains of the victims seen by P.M. NEWS before they were moved to the mortuary
of the same hospital on Friday afternoon.
An x-ray seen by a P.M. NEWS reporter shows a
bullet still lodged in the buttock of one of the survivors.
Bala told P.M.News that trouble began for the
squatters when a scavenger came to steal some length of barbed wire from the
fence of the uncompleted building last Wednesday.
The security guard, according to him, went to
report the theft to the owner of the building.
He added that the owner of the building
consequently gave all the squatters a two week ultimatum to leave the building.
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