In what appears to be a determined effort to smoke out the remaining Boko Haram elements from their hideouts in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, some youths in the town have organised themselves into vigilante groups to begin a house-to-house search for the insurgents and hand them over to security operatives.
Operating under the aegis of Civilian JTF, the youth vigilante groups who now act as whistle blowers and informants to the security operatives go from street to street and house to house with machetes, iron bars and wooden batons in their bid to smoke out the remnants of the insurgents from their hiding places and thereafter handing them over to the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno, Operation Restore Order.
Justifying their action, the youths, whose ages range from 15 and 30 years, said they were left with no choice than join in the manhunt of the insurgents for bringing untold hardship to residents of the town thus putting their own future in jeopardy.
“We are tired of this and we want to put an end to it. Since the soldiers don't really know who the Boko Haram members are, then we who live with them and know them have no option than to help fish them out,” a leader of the group who spoke on condition of anonymity to select journalists said.
THEWILL gathered that the vigilante groups started with the youths in Hausari ward of Maiduguri, a notorious den of the insurgents, with those in Gwange ward and Bolori area joining the vigilante later.
A member of the group, Isa Musa, said, "We are into this to salvage our people from the Boko Haram who had killed our people, security operatives and destroyed our economy. We are not afraid of them because we are doing a just cause and God is by our side."
Maintaining that all what they require is prayers from their people, a leader of one of the groups, Abubakar Malum, said their will and the support of everyone in the town was enough to keep them going.
“All we want is prayers from the people and their cooperation; we are working together with the JTF soldiers. We want government to assist us with more weapons like cutlasses, iron batons and axes.
"We have lost count of how many Boko Haram we have caught and handed over to the soldiers and we are going after more of them. We have caught one recently and when he was investigated, the security operatives found huge amount of money in his bank account," Musa added.
Operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja have arrested three fleeing members of a syndicate who allegedly specialized in selling live humans and decomposing human parts for money rituals. Their arrest came barely three weeks after some of their members were paraded at the Lagos State Police Command, where they confessed to have sold live human beings for N40,000, hands—N4,000 and head—N8,000. Those recently arrested are Gazali Akewadola (60), the native doctor who allegedly offered N40,000 for a live human being, Alfa Taofeek Akinola (35) and Kazeem Sanni (25). To the bewilderment of all, Gazali confessed that live human beings were cheaper than buying dead human parts, saying all parts of a live human being are vital in the preparation of money ritual. For instance, he said a life human being was bought for N40,000, “but at the end of the day, you get a lot of expensive parts from it. Aside that, it is even more potent because the efficacy of the charm or concoction prepared with live human parts cannot be compared with the ones prepared with dead parts. “When a life human being is killed, one will get fresh blood which is used in preparing some charms. The same body will also give you hairs from private part, head and some mustache which are used for other ritual purposes. The private part is also very useful for the preparation of effective concoction. The head,flesh intestines, liver, heart, eyes, lips and tongues can be used for pepper soup which is usually very delicious than that of animal meat. I usually take the pepper soup so as to assure those who patronize us that it is not harmful. It also fortifies one spiritually. “If you buy a full human being for N30,000 or N40,000 and pieces it, you will end up getting N100,000 or more because you will get more than 10 parts that will yield more money for you.” Gazali who hails from Folahan, Ado-Odo in Owode Yewa Local Government Area of Ogun State, further said: “I am an Islamic teacher and a cleric. I own an Islamic school in Owode Yewa. I am also married with eight children. I am also a native doctor. I cure people of their ailments and help those who want to get rich quick, by using human parts to prepare charms and concoctions for them. We use soft bones to cure epilepsy “Most of the human parts I bought were sold to me by Kazeem Sanni. He used to sell dead human head between N3,000 and N8000, depending on the market price. The soft bones that can easily be grinded into powder are very cheap. It is just for N1,000. It is used to cure ailments like epilepsy.” Asked why he did not use any of his children since he has eight of them, he said that would reduce the potency of the ritual concoction, adding that its potency depended solely on strangers being used. He said their victims were usually abducted from Lagos State and beyond, with the use of charms. He further disclosed that aside the N40,000 paid to Sanni to get him a live human being, he gave him another N5,000 and a charm to hypnotize the male victims. But he said the plan almost failed as Sanni was almost caught. He, however, expressed regrets that despite the use of human parts to make other people rich, he ended up not only being poor but arrested along the line. Money ritual charm changed my level The second suspect, Alfa Taofeek, who is also an indigene of Owode Yewa in Ogun State confessed to have bought a human head from the third suspect, Kazeem, which he grinded and mixed with local gin. According to him, “it was to enable me get rich. I am a Muslim cleric and I have been making people rich through this means but became jealous at a point and decided to get rich as well, since I was unable to get enough money from my clients. “After drinking the concoction prepared with a human head, I got more customers and made more money. I even threw parties on a monthly basis to celebrate my new level. “I also used part of the money to sponsor the graduation ceremony of some of my students in the Islamic school known as Alfa Taofeek Islamic School, at Owode Yewa.” Customs officers lured me into money rituals On his part, the third suspect, Kazeem Sanni, claimed to have opted for the money ritual business due to frustration from Customs men. He said: “At a point, business was no longer moving because Customs men at the border were always seizing the goods, at the end of which their owners would force me to pay for them. I became frustrated even contemplated selling my father’s landed property. I decided to consult Alfa Taokeek Akinola to find out the cause of my predicament. He instructed me to get a human head in order to be rich. After that, he requested a live human being. I attempted kidnapping someone so that I can cut off his head but it was not possible. He then instructed me to exhume dead body from the graves which I did and got him three at the rate of N3,000 each.” Their arrest, as explained by spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, was in compliance with the Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko’s directive to SARS Commander, Abba Kyari, to get the fleeing suspects, after the arrest of three members of the syndicate on May 15, 2013, with human parts. 
Stash: A medical bag, believed to be Dr Conrad Murray’s is tucked away in Jackson’s grand closet
Emptied: Several empty pill bottles could be seen rolling around the floor of Jackson’s opulent room
Medicated: Jackson’s bedroom was an array of prescription pill bottles and over-the-counter drugs at the time of his death in June 2009
Dependency: Four bottles of Propofol and a variety of other drugs line Jackson’s night stand
The end: Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in LA in 2009
Heavy dosage: A medical bag full of bottles that was found in the medical superstar’s bedroom
Waste: Various empty bottles and medical supplies were found in the room following the singer’s death almost four years ago
Investigation: Police quickly arrived on the scene at Jackson’s mansion following his tragic death in 2009
Overdose: The singer died at home, aged 50, from Propofol intoxication
Concoction: Jackson had been taking a variety of prescription pills and remedies at the time of his death
Hidden away: A medical bag belonging to Conrad Murray can be seen in a high cupboard in Jackson’s dressing room
The ultimate showman: Jackson’s iconic embroidered jackets hang in a closet, in an image released this week by the LAPD
Battle: Empty bottle lie on the floor under a nightstand in Jackson’s bedroom which holds stacks of DVDs
Last moments: The Emergency Services report of what ended up being the end of Michael Jackson’s life at his Carolwood residence in California
