According to Bukar Modu, 22, being a Boko Haram fighter could probably be the worst thing in the world. The captured member of the dreaded Islamic sect says that the group is suffering deeply as it is underfunded, unable to feed, forced to drink dirty water and worst of all the ideology that bound the group together is no longer present. And if it still remains, according to Bukar it is un-Islamic.
He said “Our leaders have never once preached Islam to us.”
“We only call on Allah when we are running out of food supply in the bush. Our leaders will assemble us and declare that we would be embarking on a mission for God and Islam.
“I did not see any act of religion in there. We are just killing people, stealing and suffering in the bush”.
Modu recalls a mission earlier this month where he was struck by the bullets of the Joint Task Force and eventually rescued and tended to by the same JTF.
“We went on a mission to attack people in Damboa on Oct. 6, a few days to the last Sallah celebration.
“We shot many people but I was also shot in the leg during the operation; I later became unconscious.
`My people took me away at the end of the operation but they decided to dump me in a nearby bush because they thought I was dead.
“I regained consciousness in the morning before I was apprehended by security agents, who provided food for me and took care of my bullet wounds,” he said.
Speaking of his initiation into the sect, the youngster narrated, “My cousin used to keep his gun in our compound in Maiduguri. One day, he said that he was not comfortable with me being outside the sect because I knew all his secrets. He gave me two options: to either join the sect or be killed. So, I had no other option than to join the sect.”
After the hasty initiation, Modu recalls an even hastier training session with an AK-47 rifle. “We were always given orders to attack individuals without questioning until we finally relocated to Marte in Marte Local Government Area of Borno during the middle of this year.”
“We were kept in the bush by our commanders; sometimes, we survived on filthy water because we did not have access to safe water and we barely had something to eat.”
“Our commanders usually conduct roll-calls on a daily basis to prevent anyone from running away; once you are caught, the penalty is death. Many were killed.”
“Any time we carry out an attack in a place, we steal food, drugs, money and everything we need.
“Sometimes, I feel guilty of committing crimes against God but our commanders always tell us that it is God’s work that we are doing.
“It is a terrible thing to be a member of the sect but many foot soldiers like me cannot leave for fear of being killed.”
Modu also explained that many of the sect’s members were from neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger and Cameroon.