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Suspect admits receiving up to ₦100,000 to aid Christmas Eve mosque bombing in Maiduguri.
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Five worshippers were killed, 32 injured after IED explosion at Gamboru Market mosque.
- Attack planned by Boko Haram commanders operating between Adamawa and Mandara Mountains.
A suspected Boko Haram operative, Ibrahim Mohammed, has confessed to collecting between ₦70,000 and ₦100,000 to participate in the Christmas Eve bombing of a mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The attack occurred on December 24 at a mosque located in Gamboru Market, where a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device, killing five worshippers and injuring 32 others.
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Mohammed, who was arrested by troops of Operation Hadin Kai alongside another suspect, told investigators that the operation was carried out on the orders of Boko Haram commanders identified as Adamu and Abubakar.
According to counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, the suspect revealed during interrogation that the attackers entered the mosque disguised as worshippers shortly after the Zuhur and Asr prayers, when the premises were sparsely occupied.
Mohammed said his accomplice planted the explosive device inside the mosque while he acted as lookout.
He further admitted that after the blast, he returned to the scene pretending to be among first responders, helping to evacuate victims.
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The suspect also disclosed that he later moved to Yobe State, where he carried out reconnaissance missions on military formations and local hunters ahead of planned attacks.
He claimed to be part of a wider terror network involving factions linked to Boko Haram, Ansaru, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin.
Mohammed was arrested on Monday in Damaturu, Yobe State, after his movements among a group of Almajiri raised suspicion.
He also revealed plans to attack a newly built Izala Mosque near Tashan Joni, Maiduguri, but said the plot was abandoned due to heightened security.
