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The Islamic faith hammers on freewill offering to the needy, which is recognized as Zakat, and all Muslims identify the fact that they owe the underprivileged the duty to offer, in money or kind, to higher their lot. font

In this duty, there's no power or compulsion, but an expression of duty.
But how does one explain the decision of Alhaji Farouk Badmus, whose objective as a Muslim would be to deliver armed men to significant Muslims to deprive them at gunpoint, giving his reason as seeking'to get from the rich to share with the poor'?
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This is what Badmus and his errand boy, Yinus Adewale, a 29-year-old Iwo town, Osun State-born scholar of Electrical/Electronics Design from Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, decided  to do , and which landed both suspects in authorities net.


The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Indabawa, had told journalists during a parade of suspects at the police headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Tuesday, November 19, that Adewale attacked one Alhaji (names withheld) on Friday, November 15, 2013 at about 2:30 pm., in his house at Moniya area of the town, while armed with European-made Baretta pistol, loaded with five rounds of live ammunition.

According to the police commissioner, the man summoned courage and confronted his assailant. "With the help of neighbours, the suspected armed robber was overpowered and disarmed," he said, adding that a call was put through to Moniya Division, from where the Divisional Police Officer sent policemen to arrest the suspect.

When the suspect was transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ibadan, for further interrogation, Crime Reports learnt that his confession led to the arrest of Badmus, whom he claimed sent him on the criminal mission.

In an interview with the suspect, who claimed that he just completed his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in February in Taraba State, he narrated his involvement thus: "I was sent to rob our target by one Alhaji Farouk Badmus, whom I met inside a commercial bus while going back to Iwo town, during my visit to Ibadan to claim my last state allowance. Since then, Alhaji Badmus had been of assistance to me and always gave me words of advice.

"It was during one of my visits to him that he told me about a former missionary of NASFAT, a Muslim organisation, against whom he held a grudge. He told me that he sought the help of the Islamic missionary in 2010, when his wife needed N80,000 to carry out an operation when she was pregnant, but the man said he had no money to help.

"Sadly, Alhaji Badmus said his wife lost the baby, because he did not get the money he needed for the operation. He was angry with the missionary for not helping when he knew he had the means to do so.

"Alhaji Badmus also added that there were other wealthy Muslims he knew but who are not ready to help the underprivileged. He suggested that we should target those wealthy but stingy Muslims, rob them and give a part of our loot to the needy while we keep the rest for ourselves. I agreed with him but suggested that we should get a gun to make our job easier.

"I told him that I would approach one guy called Private in Otukpo, Benue State, to see if he could help in procuring a gun. Alhaji gave me N40,000 and I added N10,000 to purchase the gun. Private said the gun was N70,000 and he is still expecting me to pay a balance of N20,000. When I came back, we agreed that we would not be assassins or armed robbers, deciding that we would just be using the gun to scare our targets.

"When I came back from Benue State, Alhaji Badmus gave me the missionary's number and I called him, pretending that I needed prayers for my brother whose goods were seized. The man described his house to me and asked me to bring my brother. When I got to him, I said my brother was already in a nearby hotel, but he told me that he does not go to people's houses to pray for them, asking me to tell my brother to come to his house.

 "When I saw he was hesitant in going with me, I decided to take out the weapon with me which was inside a polythene bag, in order to scare him, but the victim was quick to notice it. He immediately started dragging the bag with me and shouted for help. I dropped the gun and ran but I was pursued and caught by the people in the area. They wounded me and handed me over to the police."

Thirty-six-year-old Badmus, an indigene of Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, but who resides in Iwo, confessed to have sent the suspect to rob the victim. He also revealed how the thought was conceived. "We were in the house one fateful day, when I thought of people who have money, but do not want to give to the poor; I later made up my mind to take from those types of people to give to the poor."

Mr Indabawa said that the two suspects were still aiding the police in their investigations, adding that they would be charged to court at the completion of investigation.

“Sometimes, I feel guilty of committing crimes against God. But our commanders always tell us that it is God’s work that we are doing. It is a terrible thing to be a member of the sect, but many foot soldiers of Boko Haram like me, cannot leave for fear of being killed.”

That was part of the confessions of a 22-years old fighter of the dreaded Boko Haram sect who was arrested on 6 October by security operatives and has since been helping them in their investigations.

Continue after the break.

The suspect, who the military in Borno State, for security reasons, simply called Omar, told journalists in Maiduguri, the state capital, last Friday, that hundreds of some of the recruited fighters, including those who had been with the sect for long, were itching to lay down their arms and embrace peace, but for the fear of being hunted and killed by their leaders.

‘I was forced into sect with threat of death’
Speaking at the Brigadier Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, the Boko Haram fighter said he was forced into joining the group by his elder brother, who had been killed in a battle with military forces.

According to Omar, who confessed to have seen the weapons brought home by his late brother, the sect threatened to kill him and other members of his family, if security operatives got to know that he had seen his brother hiding weapons in their house.

Explaining how he was arrested in Damboa town, Damboa Local Government Area of the state, during a foiled attack on the local government, the suspect said: “During the attack, I was shot in the leg and my people carried me, because we do not leave our wounded behind. However, while running away from the military, they thought I had given up the ghost and there was no time for burial; thus, they left me in the bush and ran away.

“But after a while, I regained consciousness and dragged myself close to town where some children saw me and ran to report to the elders who subsequently informed the police and I was arrested.

“I was later handed over to the soldiers who brought me to Maiduguri for questioning. I was also told by the soldiers that based on my confession, I would be asked to speak with reporters.

I believe you are the people they talked about.”

Omar said contrary to the claim that the Boko Haram insurgents were being asked to take an oath or were being induced with drugs as they joined the group or when moving out to attack any place, it was pure indoctrination; as they believed what they were told that they were “working for Allah as His fingers to carry out jihad for Him.”

He said, once one joined, there was no way out as the units did a head count regularly to know those who were around and if anyone had left.

“I have seen many of my brothers who ran away brought back. I witnessed how they were slaughtered when the group went after them and arrested them. I was once a victim. I attempted to leave. In fact, I left and travelled to Lagos, but somehow, they got me back and I was to be slaughtered. But an argument ensued among our superiors, a development that led them to giving me a second chance, until my eventual arrest this time when they left me in the bush,” he said.

‘We are not fighting for God’
The young lad added that; “I cannot say that, what we are doing is the work of Allah; rather, I see us taking lives and forcefully taking what does not belong to us, which, to me, looks like banditry and not the work of Allah, even though they want us to believe that we are fighting jihad.

“I know the money we collected from people and spent, the food we burgled shops or food stores to collect and ate were nothing but robbery proceeds.

“Although I have never slaughtered anyone, each time we went out to operate, I was given AK47 riffle to shoot and kill. Those guns were brought to us by our superiors in the camps. We do not know where they got the weapons from, but we know that those who brought them used motorcycles to bring them to us, hidden in a bag or sack,” he said.

EXCERPTED FROM SUNDAY TRIBUNE