The story The story is told in two parallels that prompt discrepancies. While the official position, being Ogar’s preliminary statement that swayed many Nigerians, corroborates the presence of ‘terrorists’ in the uncompleted building and a vexing fire-shot that got the DSS operatives and the soldiers triggered during an operation meant to excavate a cache of arms said to have been buried by the “insurgents” around in the building, counter-arguments from the sorrow-stricken survivors of the shooting, eye-witnesses, concerned citizens including a member of the House of Representatives, the neighborhood, Human Rights Activist and sympathetic members of the public vehemently reject the official view. Agreed that the dead were squatters in the building, they posited that the victims were young Nigerians who engaged in various businesses such as operating commercial tricycles otherwise called “Keke NAPEP”, Mai-ruwa (water suppling), sachet water selling, amongst other petty trading as means of livelihood. To them, linking the young chaps to Boko Haram was unacceptable. Another aspect of the story has it that the building belongs to a retired Army General who became greatly irked upon a knowledge that squatters had taken over his house. Sources said that a few days before the raid, someone in the toga of the owner of the house had issued stern threats to deal with the squatters without further pre-information. But at the moment, the person’s identity is still not known. And here a few questions arise. Why is the identity of the General or the owner of the building not disclosed yet? Why would the security operatives embark on a nocturnal digging of arms without first securing the environment till daylight? Where are the arms now? If the story of non-Police involvement is worth the salt, why would there be an operation of such nature without the Police? Why were the survivors of the shooting left without police protection even around their sick beds in the hospital since Boko Haram cases are considered high profile? Many questions, less answers. Many Nigerians including Hon. Amiru Tukur Idris Nadabo, Member representing Bakori/Danja Constituency, KatsinaState in the House of Representatives who spoke to Saturday Vanguard explained that such sites with heavy presence of young men who try to eke out a living were common within Abuja and its environs. Nadabo however said that the boys usually enter into an agreement with perhaps, the Mai-Guard (local Guard) in and around such buildings which would see them pay a token ranging from N100 to N300 each as accommodation charge per night. He said that was the case with the victims of the shooting of which four of the dead were members of his Constituency in KatsinaState . Hear him: “: “As of now, we have four of my constituents killed and about nine of them are missing. We don’t know where they are. Since Friday, we have been trying to get in touch with those that arrested them. We are trying to locate where they have been taken them. They are about 26. Some are from Zamfara, two are from Yobe ; two are from Kaduna ; and others from Sokoto and Kebbi States . “I have visited the scene of the incident. Actually, it’s an uncompleted building. You see similar buildings around Wuse 11, Apo and Asokoro. You see these buildings being occupied by these hustlers, these Keke Napep drivers; people who push trucks and pure water sellers.” The rent/threats Nadabo told Saturday Vanguard that his late constituents had brought to his knowledge a threat by the supposedly owner of the uncompleted building who threatened fire and brimstone. He also recalled an earlier disagreement between the boys and the “caretaker” of the facility which was later settled. According to him, he had plans to relocate the boys amid the conflicts but hesitated when apparently, relative peace returned. - See more at: vanguardngr/2013/09/abuja-killings-truth-lies-politics/#sthash.YeznVeIo.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 15:00:46 +0000
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