10-Yr-Old Girl Strapped To Bomb 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.
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."
"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.
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.
Sources: Sahara Reporters, Vanguard
