What could have been a tragedy was averted when a woman, suspected to have been kidnapped in Maiduguri, Borno State, and strapped with explosives to carry out a suicide mission in Kano State, regained consciousness.
The woman, who gave her name as Khadijah Ibrahim, said she was able to escape her kidnappers when the vehicle they were traveling in, developed mechanical fault on arrival in Kano.
Mrs. Ibrahim, a mother of three, narrated her ordeal when the Commissioner of Police in Kano State, Abbati Dikko, yesterday presented her to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
According to her, she was kidnapped while going to a hospital in Maiduguri.
Narrating her ordeal to Governor Ganduje in Hausa language, she said: “I was standing at a bus stop in Maiduguri waiting for a bus to take me to hospital when my abductors arrived in a car and offered me a lift. I met another woman in the car, but shortly after I settled in the car, I lost my consciousness and I did not gain my consciousness until when the car in which we were travelling developed technical problem in Kano.
“While they were trying to fix the car, I overheard one of my abductors seeking permission from his colleague if he could administer injection on the two of us, but the other guy said he should leave it until we reach Kano city. I woke up to realize that I was stripped of my clothes and strapped with explosive belt.
“I also noticed that the car was not the first car in which I was taken and the lady sitting by side was not the woman I met in the first car. The woman I met in the other car was older than the lady sitting beside me in the second car. One of my abductors told me that I was going to launch an attack on Kantin Kwari market. He said it was God’s mission and it is better for me to do it”.
Mrs. Ibrahim added that the guy that was guarding them in the car urged the driver to quickly fix the car so that they could reach their destination on time, but the driver said he could not fix alone and invited the other guy to come and see for himself.
She said it was while they were both trying to fix the car that she carefully removed the explosive belt and jumped out of the car and started running for dear life.
“I was just running. I don’t know anywhere in Kano because I have never been to the state before. The two guys threatened to deal with me if I did not stop, but I ignored them and continued running. Finally, they abandoned me and went back to the other girl that I left in the car so that they could stop her from escape.
“I later met a Good Samaritan after spending some minutes roaming within a cosmopolitan area. The man stopped me and started asking me some questions. Initially, I did not trust him but after sometime, the man convinced me and assured me that I was in a safe hand”.
She said the man took her to the police station located in the same area after which she was conveyed to the Hotoro police command around 11pm, same day.
Speaking on the incident, CP Dikko urged residents of the state to be security conscious and report suspicious movements and objects to the police.
Gov. Ganduje also urged the populace to be very vigilant, especially at markets, saying if the woman had not regained her consciousness, the outcome could have been disastrous.
