Newspaper houses bombed for insult on Mohammed —Bomber

Debris-after-ThisDay-Newspapers’-office-in-Jabi-Abuja-was-bombed-by-a-suicide-bomber

A suspected member of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Mustapha Umar, who was accused of bombing a plaza housing the offices of some newspaper establishments in Kaduna, confessed to police interrogators that he embarked on the suicide mission to avenge an insult on Prophet Mohammed.

Umar, 34, was arrested after he set off explosives in the premises of SOJ Plaza, occupied by Thisday Newspaper, The Moment and The Sun, located at R9, Kontagora Road, by Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, on April 26, 2013.

The suspect had pleaded not guilty to one count of terrorism brought against him by the Federal Government. His lawyers had claimed that his confessional statement, which was admitted in evidence by the court, was obtained after he was tortured by police officers.

However, at the continuation of the trial on Wednesday before an Abuja Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Ademola Adeniyi, the prosecution, led by Mr. Shuaibu Labaran, played a video of Umar’s confession in the court.

The confession, which was conducted in Hausa language, was interpreted by a court interpreter.

A transcript of the video was also tendered and admitted as evidence alongside the video.

The video showed Umar freely answering questions put to him by a police interrogator, who happened to be Prosecution Witness 10, through whom the video clip was tendered in court.

However, while Umar voluntarily owned up to the bomb attack and disclosed his motive for same in the video, he denied being a member of the Boko Haram sect.

Rather, he claimed that the bomb attack on the office of the newspapers was a personal mission he undertook in fulfillment of an Islamic command that anyone who insults Prophet Mohammed must be killed.

The video was divided into two sections.

In the first section, which lasted just a few minutes, Umar, who had fresh injuries sustained when he was apprehended after bombing the plaza, was asked to state who he came to see in Kaduna.

“Please be patient with me, let me rest,” he replied.

In the second segment of the video, Umar informed the interrogator that he was a trader from Maiduguri, Borno State, adding that he relocated to Kaduna State about four years ago.

Asked why he decided to embark on the bomb attack, he said, “What happened was that Thisday Newspaper insulted Prophet Mohammed, (peace be upon him), which I think you know.”

The interrogator said he could not remember when the newspaper insulted the Prophet.

Umar then explained further, saying, “Since that time when the beauty contest was conducted, Thisday  newspaper insulted Prophet Mohammed, (peace be upon him), that is why I went and did this so as to take revenge.”

The interrogator again asked him to state his intention and explain the sort of vengeance he meant.

“My intention was to eliminate them so as (they will) not to work again. You know, whoever insults a prophet of God is not supposed to live,” he said.

Asked to name his collaborators, the accused person said he was alone.

“I was alone, only myself,” he said.

But he added that two of his friends in Kaduna, Ibrahim and Malam Nasaru Mustapha, aided the mission.

When the interrogator asked if he was a member of the Boko Haram sect, Umar said, “If I am a member of Boko Haram, I will face the police and the army.

“But I went to a newspaper because I was thinking of the insult against the prophet of Allah which I intend to avenge.

“But had it been a Boko Haram group member, why should I go to a newspaper house?”

The interrogator noted that Umar seemed to know what Boko Haram was looking for, to which he replied, ‘Yes, they are killing security agents, they hate government, army and police.

“But this is about Thisday newspaper; let me tell you, by the time they drew a picture in the likeness of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), I promised to revenge.

“I have my own reasons. There is a tradition of the Prophet which says that whoever insults the prophet of Allah shall be killed.

“For some years back I was praying for God to give me this opportunity to take this action and today God has given me the chance.

“But the Boko Haram you are talking about, if I belong to them, I will not come to a newspaper house. What do they have? Are they not publishing newspaper?”

PUNCH