How We Get Cars For Sucide Bombings – Abu Qaqa.

Detained Boko Haram spokesman, Abu
Qaqa, yesterday gave more hints to the State
Security Service (SSS) on how the group
sourced cars for suicide bombings. In his
further testimony to the SSS, Qaqa, the
dreaded henchman, said the cars they use in
suicide bombings are neither bought for the
mission nor gotten as enhancement by
financiers.
They are actually snatched cars, procured by
the use of force by the actors, who get them
at gunpoint with an original intent on what
they would be used for.
Qaqa said: "We snatch those vehicles at
gunpoint. We use the less exotic ones for
suicide bombings. As we get them, we just
load them with bombs, drive them near our
target, park, get out of them and leave them
to explode thereafter. But in some few
instances, the drivers who have been
destined to die in the act by the leadership
drive the bomb-laced cars into obstacles to
enable them detonate."
He spoke further in an indictment of the
leader of the group, Imam Shekau.
According to him: "the leadership – Shekau
and kinsmen, take the expensive (exotic)
ones always, saying that he would arrange
for them to be sold and the proceeds put
into the Jihad. This is never done, anyway.
"But those retained cars are put into other
uses by the leadership of the sect – Shekau
and his Kanuri brothers in blood. They serve
two purposes – one to be used by the
powerful leaders as status symbol within
the group. The second reason is to serve as
decoy against security. Because the police
and other security agencies at checkpoints
hardly stop to search such vehicles or
request the identity of the users, Shekau and
his henchmen latch unto this lapse or
advantage and cruise about in them to do
their business of further violence without let
or molestation.
"Most of those vehicles end up with him and
the Kanuri members of our sect. They use
them, pose in them to deceive security
agents at checkpoints", Qaqa stated.
Another fact is the use of proceeds of the
cars, not sent to the crematorium of
bombing, are put to when sold. He revealed
that if they are sold, what the proceeds go
into is the exclusive preserve of Shekau and
his close allies.
On the distribution or sharing of the left-
over cars, he said: "The distribution or
utilization of these stolen vehicles is on
'man-know-man' or 'man-know-tribesman'.
This also became another source of anger
and acrimony but you have to bear it or you
die. Once you are in, you are in. If you
attempt to leave, you are seen as a traitor
who must die."
Recall that two weeks ago, Qaqa in his song
blurted out that the sharing and use of
N41million booty the group made in a bank
raid caused bad blood in the group. So, his
revelation again of the distribution of
snatched cars among kinsmen of the leader
as another source of acrimony lays credence
to the fact that Boko Haram might not be
tightly sutured in unity and purpose as
earlier believed.
His position to the SSS is that it is coercion
rather than cohesion that drives the actions
of the group. The members, in fear, toe the
line of the leadership because any dissent
means paying the ultimate price.
Through the revelations of Qaqa, the SSS
raided the home of a kingpin in Madalla,
Niger State last Friday where they recovered
pornographic materials and other security
documents. The suspected kingpin, Bashir
Madalla, is still at large even as the SSS has
declared a manhunt for him.