In a swift response to the claim by a new terror group known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-sudan (JAMBS) that it was responsible for the daring onslaught of the SARS headquarters in Abuja, the police has moved to debunk that claim, describing it as ‘false and cheap blackmail to gain publicity.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said, “it is just an attempt to put wool on the faces of Nigerians, media practitioners, embarrass the government, and embarrass the security agencies and to continue in their campaign to instil fear and psychological trauma on the ordinary Nigerian”. Mba also called on Nigerians not to give the claims any serious consideration, saying the Police have picked holes in some of the group’s claims.
While assuring that the police would continue to live up to its responsibility of protecting lives and property, Mba disclosed that the police have fortified their facilities across the country to prevent future attacks from terror groups.
“Ordinarily, the police would not have responded to the anonymous information making the rounds by the faceless Jama’aatu Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan group, but it was doing so as a responsible organization that is open to transparency. I want to state in very clear terms that those claims are false. Worldwide, the modus operandi of criminal groups once they have carried out an attack or a crime, if they want to claim responsibility, they claim responsibility in a matter of minutes, sometimes in hours.
“But you are faced with a situation when this faceless group is coming out to claim responsibility 48 hours after an incident. I think Nigerians should not give that claim any serious consideration. It is just an attempt to put wool on the faces of Nigerians, media practitioners and embarrass the government, the security agencies and continue in their campaign to instil fear and psychological trauma on the ordinary Nigerian.
“Even from the huge number of suspects they claimed to have released, it is not true because the SARS facility does not have the capacity to take that number they are claiming to have released. You cannot release from a facility a number that the facility cannot hold”, he said.
