The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday alerted the public on new plots by terrorists who now plant Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on attractive objects in public places.
Acting Director Defence Information (DDI), Colonel Mohammed Rabe, who made this known at a meeting with correspondents in Abuja, said terrorists now conceal cluster bombs in attractive objects to attack people.
He warned members of the public not to get carried away by this new and dangerous trend by the terrorists who are now desperate after they have been routed from their strongholds in Sambisa Forest by soldiers.
Col. Rabe also advised Nigerians not to rush to bomb scenes immediately after an attack as there could be a possibility for a second IED to explode, thereby increasing the casualty figure.
The Defence spokesman said five suspected Boko Haram terrorists on the wanted list of the Army have so far been arrested by security agencies.
Rabe, who said Boko Haram is also using under-aged children to carry out attacks, noted that terrorists also plant bombs on very attractive objects in churches, mosques, markets, motorparks and other public places to attract innocent members of the public to strike, warned the people to be cautious when they come across such objects.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, yesterday blamed the emergence of Boko Haram on wrong Islamic teachings. He said twisted interpretation of the Islamic precepts berthed an extreme ideology in restive youths who dominated the terror group.
Buratai, who opened a two-day seminar organized by the Directorate of Islamic Affairs of the Nigerian Army to enlighten and de-radicalize minds of people on terrorism and misinterpretation of Islam at the Maimalari Cantonment, 7 Division in Maiduguri, Borno State, noted that it was time people embrace and teach true religious knowledge devoid of any ulterior interpretation.
“Muslims are faced with ignorance and wrong interpretation of Islam. We have to sensitize the public to embrace the true teachings of Islam, as propagated by Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as anything outside that, does not represent Islam,” he said.
The COAS, who was represented by the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj Gen Abubakar Yasha’u, said miscreants and criminals terrorizing people in the northeast under the guise of Islam, have gone out of the real teaching and interpretation of the religion as taught by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his disciples. He said such teachings have misled people into wrong acts including terrorism.
Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai, represented by the Wali of Borno, Wali Idris, described the seminar as timely. He said it would sensitize people about what true Islam is all about. “Nigerians should be their brother`s keeper irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliations, as all of us belong to the same country and cannot develop without peaceful coexistence. Our doors are always open to the security agencies to seek useful advice and suggestions on any security matter”, the Shehu stated.
Director of Islamic Affairs in the Army, Col. S. Mustapha, said some people have failed to heed several warnings on the false teachings of some clerics in the society. “Despite Islamic warning against extremism and terrorism, some people did not heed the warning, but always embark on distorting the real meaning of Qur`anic verses and Hadith, disseminating wrong information on Islam, in order to lure ignorant Muslim youths into crime in the name of fighting Jihad,” he said.
