Retired Major General Umaru Ibrahim Muhammed, who was assigned by the Nigerian Army to conduct a search and rescue operation after the disappearance of General Idris Alkali in 2018, has provided a chilling account of how Gen. Alkali was brutally killed in Dura-Du village, Jos South local government of Plateau state.
Gen Muhammed was appearing on Wednesday before a Jos high court, as principal witness when he made the gruesome revelation, as reported by Daily Trust.
Gen Muhammed said late Gen Alkali was gruesomely murdered and his body dismembered before he was buried in shallow grave.
According to him, “Late Gen Alkali left Abuja for Bauchi enroute Jos in 2018, while on transit, he made the last call around Dura, Du village in Jos South. And from that moment his phone went off. He never got to Bauchi and he could not be accessed on phone. Three days after, his family had to declare him missing on 3rd of September 2018.
“I was the garrison commander with the 3 division of the Nigerian Army, and I was tasked to conduct a search and rescue operation. My task was to do three things; to find Gen Alkali dead or alive, to find his vehicle black Toyota Corolla with MUN 679 AA and to find whoever is responsible for his sudden disappearance.
“I was given one Major General and 30 soldiers to carry out the task. We search all the hospital, Police station without result. We went to MTN for search and discovered that his phone was switched off in Dura, Du village. That was how we centered our search operations in that village.
“In the village we searched about 32 mining ponds, but information available to us made us to concentrate on the particular one. But the youths of the village mobilised about 500 women to protest against us searching the pond. But in spite of those initial resistance from the locals we continued with our assigned task.
“We had to go to Taraba state to get Fire service trucks and some divers from Bauchi and after intensive labor for two weeks, we succeeded in evacuating water from the pond and on the 29th of September discovered Gen Alkali Toyota Corolla from the pond. Inside the vehicle we saw his uniform, shirt, shoe, cap with his name on them.
“We continued our search in the pond, on the 1st of October, we saw a bus in the pond whose driver was declared missing 7 years earlier. We also saw a Rover car red color, the owner resides in Bisichi, he was declared missing in the same village. Inside that pond were Tipper lorry, Tricycles, motorcycles etc.
“Having discovered his vehicle, the next is to find his body. We intensified in our intelligence, and got one of the suspects who led us to the shallow grave where the remains of Gen Alkali was initially buried by the killers. The suspects confessed that after killing Gen Alkali, he body was dragged round the village before taking him to a location called “no man’s land” and buried him in shallow grave.
“We went to Abuja to bring our sniffer dog, we cultured the dog with his shirt for 3 days. Then we took the dog to “no man’s land”. We discovered they had already moved the body from that grave.
“Further search made us to understand that the killers got the service if a mortician who evacuated the body and packaged it in two bags. We got the mortician, he led us to one Mr Stephen, and Mr Stephen eventually led us to another village called Buchwet which is 10km away from Dura-Du. That was where the remains of Gen Alkali was dumped, we recovered the body on the 30th October 2018.
“To be sure the body we recover was that of Gen Alkali, we contracted a renowned pathologist to carryout thorough examination on the remains. The pathologists rearranged the entire body to show us how he was killed.
“Study shows that the killers sliced the skull into two, and pieces all parts of his body. That showed us he was gruesomely murdered by the suspects. The pathologist further requested for Gen Alkali ex-ray from the wife, and it march what we recovered. He also went to the shallow grave where Gen Alkali was first buried to fetch the sand from the grave to also confirmed the petsone buried there was Gen Alkali”
Meanwhile, the second witness, Major Arashinga Bulus, a serving in NA Abuja also narrated his role in the search and rescue team and confirmed the 21 as those arrested in connection to the killing of Gen Alkali.
After taking two witnesses, the court adjourned the case to 6th November to take additional witnesses.
Background
GOOD EVENING NIGERIA reports that Gen Alkali was allegedly killed by some youths in Jos, Plateau state, in 2018, following a protest against various gunmen attacks suffered by some communities in the state.
According to the Army, in a press briefing in 2018, late Major General Alkali was killed and buried in the shallow grave at a place called “No man’s land” in Lafande community of Jos, the capital of Plateau state.
“You would recall that on September 2, 2018, at about 8:00pm, unknown gunmen attacked a shopping complex located at Lafande Community on the outskirt of Jos metropolis in Dura-Du District of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State,” General Officer Commanding 3 Division as of 2018, Major General Benson Akinroluyo, said.
“As a result of the attack, 11 people were killed while others sustained various degrees of injuries. The attack triggered protest by the people of the area on the morning of September 3, 2018.”
He said irate youths in the state had barricaded some roads during a protest and that the unknown General who was travelling along the Jos road in his Toyota Corolla car was stopped, attacked and killed by the youths after he had introduced himself as an army general. General Akinroluyo also said that the irate youths, after killing the General, had his valuables, including phones and money “shared by those who killed him”.
He said “The irate youths who followed his car to the abandoned mining pit filled with water on many tri-cycles popularly known as “Keke NAPEP” jubilated for reason best known to them or for mission accomplished. “He was later buried in a shallow grave in an area popularly known as, “No man’s land” within the community.”