A counter-terrorism soldier with the Twitter handle @jassjegs has shared a terrible experience he had while travelling through a jungle in Niger State in 2021.
The soldier explained that while on a free ride from Lagos to Maiduguri, he was surprised when the driver chose to drive through a thick forest rather than a traceable route.
The driver said the route was his best bet to escape from the Nigerian Customs officers who might want to check his vehicle’s legitimacy, according to the soldier. He would soon find out that the suspicious route was under the control of arm-wielding individuals who charged drivers some money before allowing them to pass.
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“Around 2021, I wanted to travel from Lagos to Maiduguri. There was no much cash. Luckily, a friend called someone who was delivering a car to someone in Kano, and he said he would be going the following day. I gladly joined him, free ride,” the soldier said.
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“On our way going, I noticed he wasn’t going the normal route. I asked him why. He said because of customs. Customs? You don’t have papers or the vehicle is a stolen one? He said NO, the papers were complete and the vehicle wasn’t a stolen one.
Around 2021 I wanted traveling from Lagos to Maiduguri, there was no much cash.Luckily a friend called someone who was delivering car to Kano and he said he will be going the next day, I gladly joined him, free rideOn our way going I noticed he wasn’t— Die Hard (@jassjegs) August 16, 2023
“Then, why are you passing through the bush? He said customs normally disturbs them. I wasn’t comfortable with the answer, but I peeped low and was observing closely. We got to a village in Niger State. I saw a river and some people ferrying cars for people and you pay. I asked him again, ‘Come, where’s this place?’ He said Niger State. ‘Are you sure all is well?’ He said yes.
“Then he asked, oga are you not a soldier? Why are you scared? I answered, ‘Who told you I am a soldier?’ He said my friend, and I immediately answered, ‘He was lying to you, I am not a soldier. That terrain, you will immediately know it’s a danger zone.
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“We entered a ferry and he paid 3k. Immediately after that water, we got to a forest. Immediately, I said to myself this is another Sambisa, not knowing it was even worse than Sambisa; we were just starting. Inside that forest, you see thousands of bikes and majority of them are with AKs, mounting checkpoints.
“Once you get there, you pay your 1k and move. Nobody is disturbing anybody, they are living a normal life as if it’s nothing. My heart was already on my hand, I was holding it firm. We moved inside that forest for hours before getting to a tarred road, and I said to myself, if terrorism starts here, it will be worse than Borno State, because what I experienced in that region isn’t for the weak at all.
“I asked him several questions and his response wasn’t satisfactory at all. I called the friend who linked me to him, and started laying curses upon curses on him, because what if they had intercepted that car and discovered I was a military personnel? What if that boat that carried us and the car on that water had capsized?
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“When we arrived Kano, I told him that should be the last time he ever passed through that route, because what I saw, very soon, they will never be able to go near there as those monies the people are paying will empower those bandits to acquire sophisticated weapons and do terrible things. I sensed and smelled danger there.”
The soldier said he saw the bandits holding Kalashnikov, a military assault rifle.
FIJ earlier reported how a family identified their son, a soldier, in a trending video of troops killed by terrorists in an attack on August 14 in the state.
The post Soldier Narrates Experience at Bandit Checkpoints in Niger Forest appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.