Boko Haram Claims Attack On Sambo's House; Sokoto, Bauchi, Others

SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist sect has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack on the family house of Vice President Namadi Sambo in Tundun Wada, Zaria, as well as Monday’s explosions in Sokoto and recent killings in Bauchi, Maiduguri, and Damaturu.

The sect threatened to attack Christians, informants of security agencies, government functionaries, security agents, and anyone who pretends to be a Muslim.

“We want to stress that in our struggle, we only kill government functionaries, security agents, Christians and anyone who pretends to be a Muslim but engages in assisting security agents to arrest us,” it said in a statement emailed Tuesday evening to journalists in Maiduguri, which reads, in full:

“All praises go to Almighty Allah. This is a very important message from the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad. We wish to extend our profound gratitude to Almighty Allah for giving us the opportunity to fulfill the promise we made on launching spontaneous attacks in Sokoto.

“We have reasons for all our activities and we only kill those who wronged us. We attacked Sokoto because many of our brethren have been incarcerated there. We are gladdened by the successes we recorded at the office of the AIG in Marina and the police divisional office at Unguwan Rogo as well as the police station at Arkila.

“We wish to reiterate that our crusade is not for personal gain; it is meant to ensure the establishment of an Islamic State by liberating all Muslims from the excesses of the infidels. We strongly believe that Almighty Allah will reward us with his famous paradise in the hereafter as he rightly said in Chapter 9 Verse 111 of the Holy Qur’an

“We wish to strongly warn people to desist from collaborating with security agents. The fact is that we are the warriors of the Almighty and even the security forces are finding it difficult to contain our activities. We want to stress that in our struggle, we only kill government functionaries, security agents, Christians and anyone who pretends to be a Muslim but engages in assisting security agents to arrest us.

“We are also aware of the activities of some women who have been recruited to spy on us. This is a final warning to all of them. Whenever we catch any woman spying on us, we would slaughter her like a ram.

“We are responsible for the attacks in Bauchi and at the residence of Namadi Sambo in Zaria as well as the one in Damaturu where we bombed a patrol vehicle. We equally dealt a big blow on JTF operatives in Maiduguri who, out of frustration, went back and killed innocent and defenseless citizens.

“It is erroneous to say that we are killing Muslims. We don’t kill innocent Muslims. The fact is, the bottom line of our struggle is to set the Muslims free from enslavement. We only kill the unbelievers.”

Meanwhile, the Police in Kaduna have arrested two people suspected to have been connected with the attack on the vice president’s house, orchestrated by a gang of three men who arrived the scene of the crime on a motorbike and shot at the building, killing a cobbler and injuring the two policemen on duty.