Nigerian secret police name April bomb blast suspects

Nigerian secret police name April bomb blast suspects
Nigeria's State Security Service (SSS) has told the Federal High Court in the capital Abuja that Shuiabu Abubakar and Umar Ibrahim were the brains behind the bombings in April.

James Izi, a senior investigation officer, told the court on Friday that the other accused persons, Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana- Umar, Mohamed Ali, and Musa Adam, who were identified as members of the Boko Haram group, assisted the two to carry out the attacks in Suleja in Niger State.

The six are being charged for terrorism, planting of explosive devices and killings, contrary to Section 15 (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004 and punishable under the law.

Izi said the accused had received training in the house of one Malam Bashir Madalla, now at large and were identified through their covert codes, signs, information collated from their neighborhood and the explosives found on some of them.

He said some of the accused persons had led security agents to a site in Madalla, near Suleja, where the group was manufacturing bombs.

"My Lord, whatever I say to the court concerning our discovery about the accused persons is true; in fact, the materials recovered from the illegal bomb making factory are in our armory," he said.

"They consist of special handsets used in detonating prime devices," he added.

"All the accused, according to our investigation, have played one role or the other in the execution of the multiple bomb blasts that took place in Suleja at different intervals," the officer said.

"They have used explosives for blasting rocks to blast human beings," he added. The witness denied that the accused were tortured in the course of taking their statements and presented as exhibit, copies of their signed testimonies.

The accused are being tried for the April 8 explosion at the Suleja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which resulted in the death of 16 persons and damage to public property.

They are also charged for the March 3 attack at a political rally in Suleja, which resulted in the death of three persons, and for May 23 attack at Dakna Village, in Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

Three Peace Corps Officers were said to have died in the blast.

Izi also alleged that the suspects carried out the July 10 bombing of the All Christian Fellowship Church, Suleja, were three people also died.

The prosecution is also charging Ahmed, Adam, Babagana-Umar, Ali and Ibrahim of training people in terrorism between June 4 and July 12, at various locations in the FCT, Niger and Nassarawa states.

The six accused persons had pleaded not guilty to all the charges on Sept. 30.

Justice Bilkisu Aliyu adjourned the matter to Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, for continuation of the trial and ordered the accused to be remanded in the SSS custody.

The court also fixed Nov. 25, to entertain the consolidated bail application filed by Messrs Emeka Okoro and Nurudeen Sulaiman, both Counsel to the accused.

Editor: Mo Hong'e

English.news.cn   2011-11-19 18:55:25 FeedbackPrintRSS
ABUJA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua)