Police commissioner Zakari Biu was suspended from the force yesterday after an operation he led to investigate arrested Boko Haram suspect Kabiru Sokoto ended in the escape of the suspect at Abaji, Abuja, on Sunday.
Kabiru Sokoto was captured at the Borno Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Saturday by a team of police from the Zone 7 command, but he was rescued by a gang of youths at Abaji while he was being conveyed to a location there. Biu, who is police commissioner in charge of investigation at the command, was said to have led the operation.
A statement in Abuja yesterday by the Police Force Headquarters announced the escape of the suspect and the subsequent suspension of a police commissioner but did not name the officer affected.
“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to confirm that a suspect was arrested in a successful Police operation and was rescued from a team of Policemen detailed to carry out further investigation in the matter,” force public relations officer DCP Olusola Amore said in a statement.
“The suspect was handed over to a Commissioner of Police for further investigation and he consequently detailed his men to take the suspect to Abaji in furtherance of investigation.
“In the course of undertaking this important procedure, the Policemen on escorts with the suspect were attacked by the suspected sect gang members and in the process the suspect freed.
“The Police view this development as a serious negligence on the part of the Commissioner of Police and have since been queried and suspended him from duty.
“If a criminal case is established against him and his team, they will be prosecuted.”
Kabiru Sokoto was arrested early Saturday morning during a police raid at the Borno Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, where he sneaked in through a friend who was given accommodation to stay overnight. He was said to be taken along with a Flight Lieutenant of the Nigerian Air Force to the Zone 7 Headquarters of the Police in Abuja. The Borno State Government on Monday said Kabiru might have penetrated the lodge in order to attack Governor Kashim Shettima.
Daily Trust exclusively reported yesterday that Kabiru was taken to Abaji on Sunday, where he is said to own a house, to allow police conduct search. But he escaped when a gang of youths blocked the way and created chaos.
How Kabiru settled in Abaji
Kabiru Sokoto, who is married to one wife and has 3 children, came to reside at Abaji around March 2010 from Sokoto State, neighbours told Daily Trust yesterday.
When he came to Abaji, he first stayed at the home of a trader along the new market road.
A few days later he rented a one-room apartment at Unguwar Asharawa in the area and moved in with his family.
Residents of the area said after Kabiru settled, he came to endear himself to the people in the area. He was considered as a generous man and a devoted Muslim cleric who often led the five daily prayers in a mosque at Anguwar Asharawa.
Later, Kabiru opened a kiosk and began selling provisions/cosmetics in the neighbourhood.
Sources said Kabiru relocated to Abaji after his house in Sokoto State was burnt in 2009 on suspicion that he was affiliated to the Boko Haram sect.
People in Abaji said Kabiru has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics/Chemistry.
