A
splinter group from the Boko Haram Islam sect, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi
Biladis Sudan, otherwise known asJAMBS, on Saturday announced the
murder of seven foreign expatriates that were abducted in Bauchi State, on
February 16, 2013.
The leader of JAMBS,
Abu Usamatal Ansary, stated in a message posted in a Islamic website that the
decision to execute the expatriates followed reported attempts by British and
Nigerian Forces to storm the area where the hostages were being kept and
release them, contrary to earlier warnings issued by the sect.
The expartriates who were kidnapped from a Lebanese Construction
Firm, Setraco, at Jama’are, in Bauchi , were three Lebanese, and a
citizen each from Britain, Greece, Italy and the Philippines.
Ansary stated specifically that the group executed the
expatriates because President Goodluck Jonathan contravened the sect’s warning
by issuing a directive to security agents to rescue the abducted expatriates.
He stated also that the hostages were killed because five jet
bombers belonging to the British Government, soldiers and intelligent agents
were sighted in Bauchi by journalists thereby giving the indication of an
operation to free the hostages by force.
The group’s leader further alleged in the statement that
security operatives arrested several people including women some of whom were
killed.
“As it may be recalled that JAMBS announced the capture of seven
Christian foreigners and warned that should there be any attempt to rescue them
by force, will render their lives in danger.
“The Nigerian Government has announced to do so by any means,
they ignored our warnings as the President commands security agents.
“More so, the British Government sent five jet bombers, soldiers
and intelligent… parading in Bauchi in order to rescue them.
“They also arrested many people including women and killed some
of them.
“By this progress, the Nigerian and British Government
operations led to the death of the seven Christian foreigners. Because a soul
of a single believer (Mu’umin) is more than the lives of thousands of
believers,” the statement read.
JAMBS, which broke out of the Boko Haram in January, also included
supposed photographs of the executed victims and a picture of a man dressed in
what looked like a military camouflage and was wielding a riffle on the
Internet.
When our correspondent contacted the Director Defence
Information, Col. Mohammed Yerima, he couldn’t confirm the killing of the
hostages.
He said he was in Port Harcourt and that the network was bad.
“In Port Harcourt, network is bad. Can’t confirm,” Yerima said.
The spokesman of the JTF in the North East, Col. Sagir
Musa, neither picked the repeated calls placed to his mobile telephone line nor
responded to text messages sent to him on the issue.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, who spoke to
one of our correspondents on the telephone, condemned the killings.
Advising the Federal Government to dwell more on intelligence to
check insecurity, he described the proposed death penalty by the National
Assembly as a mockery of the fight against terrorism.
Falana said, “Boko Haram menace has long attained international
dimension, having been linked to al-Qaeda and the militants in Mali. Government
has a lot to do beyond military onslaught, it has to address socio-economic
crisis in the country, which lures youths into criminality.
“The National Assembly will have to stop making a mockery of the
war against terrorism by proposing death penalty for terrorists. These people
are ready to die; they are ready to kill themselves. Death sentence for them is
barbaric and contradictory.”
Source: Punch
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