21-year-old Adam Mustapher, a native of Maiduguri told Vanguard that he joined the sect in 2009 when Mohammed Yusuf, its founder was alive, but he didn’t take part in the fight at the beginning, because he was too young. But he said he became attracted to the group in 2014 when he realized people were making money from the group’s activities.
He also confessed that his job as a member since 2014 was to take young girls being used for suicide bombings to their target locations and he normally earned N200,000 for each operation; “I attended only an Islamic school and I didn’t complete my education. I am a taxi driver and I have been in the business in the last four years. I joined the Boko Haram Sect in the year 2009 when the founder Mohammed Yusuf was still alive.
I used to pray with the sect in their mosque but I didn’t join in the fight from the beginning, I went underground. But I rejoined the group four years ago when one Ibrahim, a member of the group approached me with the idea of buying stolen cows and other livestock from the group, which I would sell in Maiduguri.
I made so much money from the business, but that my friend Ibrahim was later killed during an encounter with some soldiers. I bought a vehicle with the money I made and the group then gave me a new assignment which was for me to always convey suicide bombers, who were mainly young girls, from the Sambisa forest, with their suicide vests to their target locations.
The person who normally took the girls from Sambisa forest to Muma Garage in Maiduguri, where I would pick them up, was one Abu, who has also been arrested. Sometimes I got instruction from Sambisa forest on where the suicide bombers would attack and where there was none I would take them to any area where I felt the casualty figure would be very high.
But my targets were usually densely populated areas and before I received the girls from Abu, I normally drove round the town to find areas that were populated.
I took the suicide bombers to several places such as Post Office area of Maiduguri, where they carried out attacks, I also took them twice to Baga Road, Monday market, 33 Army barracks, and several other places where so many people lost their lives during the attack. I was usually paid N200,000 after each successful mission.
My last mission was on the 10th of May 2018 in an operation we carried out at 33, Army Barracks in Maiduguri. In one of my operations on Baga Road, one of my younger brothers was killed during the suicide bomb attacks, I felt very bad about the incident and I wanted to quit but I couldn’t because the money they promised me was tempting. But I regret everything I have done now. I don’t know how the police learnt about me, I was in my house when they came and arrested me.”
I supplied food items, sold diamonds for Boko Haram—Mala
One of the group’s logistic suppliers, 48-year-old Ibrahim Mala, a native of Goza local Government area of Borno State, said as a security man at a petrol station, he earned just N5,000 monthly which made him to join the group. “ I am a member of Boko Haram and I am one of the group’s logistic suppliers.
I met the group through one Arramma, who brought one Abu to me and they asked me to buy some stolen rams and goats from them. I bought the livestock for N22,000 and then they told me that they were members of the Boko Haram.
They then requested me to be their supplier. Sometimes they brought money to me from the Sambia forest to help them buy food items and other things they would need and after buying the items, I would keep them in my house and call them on the phone to come and pick up the items.
They would then come at night to carry the items. They usually paid me the sum of N100,000 on each trip. But in the month March they brought some diamonds for me to sell for them and they also linked me to one Alhaji Talba Gonie, who resided at Zageri Ward, on Baga Road, who they said knew how to sell the diamonds.
After selling the diamonds, Alahjai Talba Gonie would hand over the money to me and the sect members would instruct me on what they needed me to buy for them with some of the money after which they would come and pick them and the balance of their money. I sold the diamonds for them on five occasions and they rewarded me handsomely, but I don’t know where they got the diamonds from. I bought a land with the money I made from my dealings with the group.
But I am regretting my actions because I was once a Boko Haram victim as they killed my uncle and his son, when they attacked my village in 2014 but the money they offered to pay me if I became their supplier was so tempting. Even my wife wasn’t happy that I joined the group but there was nothing she could do about it”, he lamented.
Why I passed information on troops movement to Boko Baram — Civilian JTF member
Mohammed Bashiri, 34-year-old member of the civilian JTF, which was set up to work against the Boko Haram sect, said he opted to work for the sect, because he was not earning any money as a Civilian JTF but the sect was ready to pay him for information he passed across to them.
According to him, “I was part of the group that formed civilian JTF in 2012, and I also joined the military in fighting against the sect, but the government was not paying me then and I was forced to join Boko Haram. It was one Adam who lured me into the group and I became his informant.
I used my position as a civilian JTF to pass information to him and whenever he wanted to take supplies to Boko Haram in Sambisa forest, he would need me to give him information about movement of military men.
He used to pay me N10,000 on each information I gave to him and he promised that the group would soon reward me handsomely.
