10-Yr-Old Girl Strapped To Explosive Belt, 2 Others Arrested In Katsina

10-Yr-Old Girl Strapped To Explosive Belt, 2 Others Arrested In Katsina

The group of people was detained by security forces on suspicion of belonging to Nigeria-based extremists, collectively known as Boko Haram.

According to the information provided by Coordinator of National Information Centre, NIC, Mike Omerri, a suspicious car, Honda CRV, with suspected Boko Haram members was stopped by security forces in Katsina state. The people in the car included one adult male, one teenage girl aged 18 and one underage girl aged 10.

Related: Female Suicide Bombers May Be Chibok Girls – Oby Ezekwesili 

During the arrest operation the older suspects tried to flee the scene in the vehicle, but failed and subsequently were detained. The child, simply identified Hadiza, was discovered to have been strapped to an explosive belt, Mr. Omerri claims.

The chilling trend of deploying young women and girls as bombers comes three-and-half months after Boko Haram attack on a girls’ secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, where it kidnapped approximately 300 girls in the northeast. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau also promised to convert the girls in Islam and "sell them in the market, by Allah."

Related: Boko Haram Bombs Kano Islamic Legal Studies College, Six Confirmed Dead 

"I am the one who captured all those girls and will sell all of them. I have a market where I sell human beings because it is Allah that says I should sell human beings. Yes, I will sell women, because I sell women," Shekau said in his video released in May this year.

The Nigerian government has been criticised for its lack of immediate response to the abduction, with a wave of demonstrations demanding action engulfing the whole country and drawing attention of the world. President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted help from the United States, Britain, France, China and Israel, which have sent specialist teams to help in the search effort.

Related: 40 Suicide Bombers Reportedly Sneaked Into Maiduguri

Source: Legit.ng

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Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com