Female bombers don't know they're carrying bombs - Minister says

dimeji akinloye

December 30, 2015 9:07 PM

He said a man is assigned to each them, whose job is to stand at a close proximity and detonate the explosive.

Lai Mohammed

The Federal Government has revealed that the female suicide bombers used by Boko Haram are not aware they are carrying bombs.

Speaking on Tuesday during a courtesy visit to the corporate headquarters of The Punch newspaper, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,explained that the terrorists package a parcel containing explosives and ask the girls to deliver them at various public places.

He said, “Suicide bombers usually walk in threes. There is the man who leads. The leader will ensure that the small girl who is strapped with the bomb knows the road. The small girl never knows what she is carrying.

“She is simply told to go and deliver a parcel at a market. That leader would have taken her to the market days before to show her the direction of the market. On the day she is to deliver the package, the man will lead and by then she is strapped.

“Then there is another person that tails her from behind who will make sure that she doesn’t change her mind or turns in another direction. These bombs are detonated remotely. This is how cowardly these people are. These girls are not indoctrinated. Most of them don’t know what they are carrying. Some of them do it for as little as N5, 000 which is given to their parents.”

Despite the recent spate of bombings, the Minister also insisted that the Boko Haram war is largely won.

He said the terrorists no longer have the capacity to take over many towns and villages in the North-East and declare a caliphate as they previously.

dimeji akinloye