Boko Haram’s new tactic is to ‘disguise as epileptic patients to blow up people’

The Adamawa state government says Boko Haram insurgents have deployed a tactic of pretending to be epileptic patients to blow up unsuspecting people who rush at them to render assistance.

Speaking with journalists on Sunday, Ahmad Sajoh, the state’s commissioner for information, said the government had begun awareness campaigns so that residents of the state do not fall victims to the tactics.

He said although it is difficult to read the minds of people “who are satanic” the government is doing all it can and taking proactive steps to guard against activities of the insurgents.

“We are also aware that the terrorists now have another tactics which is that they will come to a place where people are gathered and begin to pretend as if they are epileptics or having severe stomach pain, and once people gather to assist them they will detonate the bomb,” the commissioner said.

“So, we are also doing advocacy to tell people not to fall for such tactics. We have had it in the past, the first bomb blast in Yola was engineered like a street fight. Two people were fighting and people gathered to watch the fight and they detonated the bomb.

“The second one, they went to a tipper garage where labourers were buying food, they declared the food free of charge, paid the woman and started giving people five hundred Naira gift, then people rushed down and gathered and then they detonated the bomb.

“We have now understood and going on advocacy to the parents to tell their children not to collect something from people they don’t know.”

Sajoh further said the government has held meetings with traditional rulers on the issue.

“We also interfaced with all the vice-chancellors, rectors and their heads of security in anticipation that something like this could happen. We took several measures but you know somebody who is planning evil may have more ways than you can imagine,” he said.