Suspected ThisDay bomber regrets not dying in blast, says would have made heaven

Shocking revelation emerged at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Tuesday when prosecution witness to the ThisDay Newspaper House bombing, Simon Labaran, testified that the suspect, Mustapha Umar wept bitterly in regret that he did not die in the blast.

Umar is currently standing trial for reportedly masterminding the ThisDay Newspaper House bombing in Kaduna, sometime last year.

The suspect was brought to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Area 10, Garki, Abuja, after his apprehension in Kaduna on April 26, 2012.

According to Labaran, Umar kept regretting that he would have made heaven if he had died alongside other victims of the blast.

The witness said, “I was serving in Force CID Area 10, Abuja, as a detective in charge of investigation of terrorism cases.

“On April 26, 2012, the accused person was brought from Kaduna and handed over to me for discreet investigation.

“The accused person was involved in the bombing of ThisDay office (in Kaduna).

“He was always crying because the operation he went for failed, he said that he would have been happier if he had died in the operation with people (victims) so that he would be in heaven.”

But the defense counsel to the accused, Sullyman Nurunee, objected to the admissibility of the five statements attributed to his client.

At a trial-within-trial session granted by the Judge, the prosecution witness, who claimed the supervision of the statement taking, said the accused person was not coerced or beaten in the process.

The witness, a police investigator in charge of the Investigation and Terrorism Unit of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Abuja, said the accused voluntarily gave the statements.

He explained that the accused was handed over to him with serious injury he sustained from the scene of the bombing, adding that “nobody in his right senses could have mistreated him”.

“My Lord, we treated him well. In fact, I was compelled to call the medics to attend to him from time to time when he was with us.

“We got the statements from him through mere discussion and he was friendly and cooperative,” he said.

While giving evidence, Mr. Umar said the police did not officially record any of his discussions with them as his statements, saying “I did not sign any documents as my statements’’.

“My Lord, the only thing I know happened while I was with the police was that I was hung and beaten, all in attempts to extract information from me.

“I told them that I could not reveal anything because I did not have such information.

“They told me I was a terrorist and a bomber. My Lord, I am only a petty trader that deals in perfume and traditional Hausa caps.

“I was indeed surprised when the police said I made five statements with them. Those are not my statements,’’ he said.

The police brought a one-count charge against Umar under the Terrorist Prevention Act 2011.

ThisDay office in Kaduna was bombed on April 26, 2012, by a suspected suicide bomber.

The accused was on Feb. 3 arraigned for allegedly masterminding the bombing of the Newspaper House.

Mr. Umar, who had pleaded not guilty to the charge, risk being sentenced to life imprisonment, if found guilty.

May 15 has been fixed as the final verdict on the acceptability of five documents tendered as confessional statements made by Mustapha Umar.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court fixed May 15 to pass the final judgment on the admissibility of five documents tendered as confessional statements made by Mustapha Umar.

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, heard how alleged kingpin of the Boko Haram sect, Mustapher Umar, bombed office of Thisday Newspaper in Kaduna State with 12 camp gas cylinders in a bid to appease Allah.

Justice Ademola Adeniyi, who admitted a burnt Honda Car, with number-plate AL-306-MKA, allegedly used to perpetrate the terrorist act on April 26, 2012, further heard how the accused person cried bitterly when he was rescued from the burning car, saying they denied him the opportunity of inheriting 72 virgins in heaven.

In a bid to prove the complicity of the accused person, the Federal Government brought a senior police officer that is charged with the responsibility of keeping exhibits recovered from terror suspects to testify before the high court.

The masked witness, PW-8, who told the court that the accused person had intended to carry out a suicide attack, produced the burnt Honda car, the discharged cylinders, half-charred 25 litter jerry-can that allegedly contained fuel, and persuaded Justice Adeniyi to move the court outside to inspect the terror items.

Besides, he showed the trial judges who was accompanied on the inspection tour by lawyers and journalists, the foot wear the accused person discarded in his attempt to escape after he was caught by angry mob within the premises of SOJ Plaza in Kaduna State where the attack occurred.

Aside Thisday, two other media houses affected by the explosion which reportedly led to the death of about 10 persons, were the Moment and Sun Newspapers, which offices were equally situated at the said SOJ plaza.


The Abuja Federal High Court on admitted the white Honda Academy car with Kaduna plate number, AL 306 MKA, as evidence in the trial of a suspected Boko Haram member, Mustapha Umar.

Umar was accused of bombing a plaza housing the offices of some newspapers in Kaduna in April 2012.

The vehicle was the one which Umar allegedly loaded with improvised explosives devices before driving into the premises of SOJ Plaza occupied by ThisDay Newspaper, The Moment Newspaper and The Sun Newspaper, located at R9, Kontagora Road, by Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, where he detonated the explosives.

Some burnt cylinders, as well as a partly burnt 25-litre black jerry can, which the suspected Boko Haram member allegedly used in the bomb attack, were also admitted in evidence by the court.

The materials were tendered by a masked prosecution witness, a police exhibit keeper, at the continuation of Umar’s trial over a one-count terrorism charge.

Another prosecution witness tendered a video recording of Umar’s confession while in police custody.

However, prosecution counsel, Mr.  Simon Labaran, sought an adjournment to enable the court interpreter to study and understand the video recording to enable him to provide an effective interpretation to the court.

The presiding judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, thereafter adjourned the matter to today (Wednesday) for continuation of trial.

Punch