Security operatives had on Thursday, December 4, 2014 arrested a suspected female suicide bomber who planned to set off a bomb at the General Shuwa Memorial Hospital, in Government Reservation Area (GRA) Maiduguri.
The suspected bomber, a fairly old woman, who was said to have been confronted first by the hospital’s security guards, was arrested at about 11.35AM after it was discovered that she hid an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in a food flask she was carrying, Guardian reports.
The hospital authorities disclosed that the suspected terrorist disguised as a relation of a female patient who had come to present food at the maternity ward. But when she was stopped at the gate to open the two food flasks she was carrying before she could be allowed to proceed to the ward, she refused to open one of the flasks.
Narrating the incident to journalists,one security guards at the hospital said, “When she was asked to open the other flask, she refused, swearing that she will not open it. Our security guards have to call the soldiers at a military post to ascertain whether or not the flask contains any explosive.
“Three minutes after, the bomb detector beeped for some seconds, indicating the presence of an explosive device, and the old woman was immediately whisked way by the military personnel to an unknown destination for further interrogation and investigation.”
When asked the identity of the the guard said that when the woman was asked about her place of residence, she responded that, “I am an old woman from Chibok town, and I wanted to deliver food to one of my relations admitted here in this hospital.”
In a related development, operatives of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) patrolling the airport road had nabbed two Boko Haram suspects near the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base and the Airport Roundabout by 2.31PM.
A representative of the CJTF, Yusuf Bala, who narrated the incident said, “The two suspects boarded a tricycle and taxi from the Tashan Journey near the 333 Nigerian Army Artillery, before they were intercepted by our members here at this check point in Gomari ward.
“They attempted fleeing, but we had to stop them from fleeing from the vehicles, and God was on our side to recover a rifle and a pistol hidden under their jeans pants,” said brandishing a cutlass that assisted him in the arrests.”
“Our job was to patrol all the nooks and crannies of Maiduguri with stop and search of all vehicles moving in and out of this city. These arrested suspects had been handed over to soldiers in our sector for further interrogations and investigation,” Bala added.
