Police discover terrorist training camp in Bauchi

Hafiz Ringim, Inspector General of Police
Men of the Bauchi State Police command have raided a terrorist training camp in the Toro Local Government Area of the state, arresting 10 men and recovering arms and ammunition
The leader of the camp was in the process of recruiting another 35 people for training before the camp was invaded by the police. Toro is less than 30 kilometres from Jos, which has witnessed serial killings in the last two months. The police said the suspects were undergoing training at the camp, saying it recovered five camouflage military uniforms, 70 rounds of 7.62mm AK47 live ammunition, 44 rounds of live cartridges, four pump action guns, one military jungle hat, four machetes in bayonet-like form, and a box containing assorted charms.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, who described the invasion and arrest as a ‘breakthrough,’ said Toro appeared to have become a training ground for terrorist activities. He expressed worry at the recoveries, especially that of the military uniform and high velocity military arms and ammunition. Aduba said, “Since my posting, this is the first time I am seeing such. They have refused to name their sponsors, but investigations will unravel those behind the camp.”


The Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Barau, said the suspects would be taken to Dikwa in Kaduna state for further investigations because they confessed that they were supposed to go on a reprisal attack following the killings of some Fulani people in the area. The PPRO gave their names as Buba Yayi, Sule Saleh, Lawalle Abdulkadir, Abdulkadir Saleh, Musa, Abubakar alias Musa duna, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed (leader), Adamu Jagaba, Seidu Saleh, and Risku Usman
Barau said, “We arrested them in a village called Gumau in Toro. The first thing we did was to screen them based on the suspicion of conspiracy, unlawful possession of offensive weapons, firearms, live ammunition and pump action cartridges — all lethal weapons. “As investigation progressed, it became obvious that they were no mere criminals, but terrorists. The fact became obvious when from the confessional statement of three of them, they said that they were recruited by one Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, who is their leader. He quartered them and they have commenced training in the use of fire arms and tactful defence.
“They were to be trained in weapon handling. It was obvious from their statement that after the training, their mission would be to avenge the death of their Fulani brothers and sisters that lost their lives in Kaduna riots. To be more specific, they were planning an attack on Zamkwa community in Zangon Kataf in Southern Kaduna.” Barau said five of the suspects were arrested around 7am on September 15, after an attack on the village of Fuska Mata in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. Fuska Matta is a border village between Jos and Toro in Bauchi.
He added, “More importantly the group is being investigated for their possible involvement in the attack on the village of Fuska Matta which was attacked by Fulani on September 9 at 9pm. It was these five that took us to the house where the remaining five were arrested.” He said that the suspects were being trained with one AK47 rifle and one pump action. The CP added that the police would not leave any stone unturned in a bid to unmask the sponsors of the group but that his greatest headache was the internally-displaced persons who migrated from Maiduguri and Jos to Bauchi. He said, “Most of them are not employable. However, our 24-hour patrol is on and we are making efforts to contain these hoodlums.”

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