Boko Haram Attack Around Aso Rock: SSS Arrests Engineer

A 32-yrs old engineer, Isiaka Yusuf, is reportedly being held by the State Security Service for posting photos of the March 30 jailbreak by some detained suspected Boko Haram members on Twitter.Isiaka, an employee of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company attached to the Aso Villa substation, was said to have been arrested by SSS operatives at his office on March 30, a few hours after the incident.

The Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was busy at work while the security breach lasted.

Isiaka had posted six live pictures of the incident on his Twitter page, showing how SSS officials and soldiers battled to regain control of the secret service’s headquarters, located behind the Villa, from the detainees...






Some of the pictures showed that what the SSS initially said may not be entirely true. According to Punch, his last known public communication on the social network was the pictures and tweets he posted in connection with the jailbreak on March 30.

In a telephone interview with Punch, Isiaka’s younger brother, Sanusi, said he last heard from that day, adding that the Isiaka's telephone had since been switched off.

Sanusi explained that a close friend of Isiaka in Abuja, who has been leading the search for his whereabouts, was informed by a senior management staff of the AEDC at the Asokoro substation that his brother had been arrested by the SSS.

Speaking in an emotion-laden voice, Sanusi said, “I last spoke with my elder brother on March 30 when the SSS jail break incident occurred. As I speak with you, Isiaka’s Toyota Camry saloon car is still on the premises of the Aso Villa substation, where he parked it on March 30.

“When has it become a crime in Nigeria to post pictures on Twitter? Did he give any wrong information to the public with his Twitter post? Was it not what happened that he posted? Why are we treating fellow Nigerians this way? This is unfair. It is not as if my brother sneaked into the place to take pictures; he works in the environment.”

Lamenting that his family has been thrown into confusion over the “continued illegal detention” of his brother for 11 days, Sanusi explained that their mother slipped into a coma as soon as she learnt of Isiaka’s detention.

Many Nigerians are now demanding Isiaka's release but the SSS is playing hide and seek. More to come...