A 40-year-old Maiduguri firewood vendor named Babagana Umar has been paraded by the police in Borno State for reportedly giving three youngsters N10,000 in exchange for demolishing the Mafa Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
The children, Malum Usman, a 16-year-old, Bulama Bukar,14-year-old and Rawa Usman11-year-old were paraded on Thursday.
They were detained on March 24, according to the police.
The state government claimed on Thursday that certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were funding the burning of IDP camps in Borno State. This accusation came a few days earlier.
According to the state’s commissioner for information and internal security, Prof. Usman Tar “This incident is under investigation, and additional required action shall be taken on the matter.”
The state police command’s spokesman, Nahum Daso, paraded the four suspects before reporters in Maiduguri. He said that on March 24, 2024, at around 10:30 a.m., the Mafa hunters group reported to the Mafa division of the police with three suspects: Malum Usman (16 years old), Bulama Bukar (14 years old), and Rawa Usman (11 years old), all of the Mafa IDP camp. The suspects were apprehended with matches while attempting to set a house in the camp.
“Further preliminary inquiry showed that the three were hired for N10,000 to commit the act by one Babagana Umar, a firewood vendor in Maiduguri’s Muna Garage neighborhood. An investigation is being conducted into the case.
However, the 40-year-old Umar refuted the claim in an interview with journalists.
He also refuted claims of receiving any money from any NGO to sponsor the arson.
“I was arrested while saying my prayers in the mosque,” the Muna Garage firewood seller, who has three wives and 15 children, told Punch.
“This is a mischief against me by persons I am yet to even imagine. When I was arrested, because I knew I had never imagined attempting to set the Mafa IDP camp ablaze, I proposed to swear by the Holy Quran to prove my innocence, but I was not allowed.
“No NGO gave me any money to sponsor the burning of any camp, and I did not give the children N10,000 to burn the Mafa camp.”
