The death of Sule Kwaran, a vigilante group commander shot dead by suspected members of Boko Haram sect did not come to his three widows? as a surprise as events leading to his demise hinted that he was putting his life at risk, but only for the sake of humanity. SALISU IBRAHIM spoke with the family members of this selfless man who, because he wanted others to live, was gunned down in the process.
Malama Umma Sule, one of the widows left behind by Alhaji Sule Kwaran, told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND that, “My husband must have had a premonition that he will die soon in the course of his job.”
For her, although the death was painful, she and her co-wives were consoled that their late husband died shortly after saying his prayers.
“A few days to his death, our late husband told us that some members of the Boko Haram group had sent a letter warning him to desist from revealing information about their activities and failure to comply with the directive was at his own peril. He chose to ignore the warning for the sake of humanity and continue to work with security operatives in order to make life better for others through enhanced security in the security. That was how he lived and worked for the people,” Malama Umma explained.
“Immediately we heard about the sect’s warning on our husband’s life, we met and approached him with advice, that he should resign from his job in order to save his life, but to our surprise, our late husband said if that’s the way he will lose his life, so be it”. He told us that “I would rather die in the course of humanity than to give up service to humanity”, and much to our dismay, our husband’s response was to continue to pray for him rather than discourage him from doing his job.”
“I want to serve my people and please God Almighty; if in the course of that service I die, that is the wish of God Almighty and I will be happy for it,” late Sule told his wives who insisted that he should leave the job to concentrate on issues that would be beneficial to his family members.
As destiny had planned it, a few days after late Sule’s encounter with his wives, he went to a local mosque in the area where he used to pray after work every day, unknown to him that Friday was his last on earth. Four gunmen who prayed along with them turned the barrel of their guns on the late Vigilante Commander and four others shortly after the prayer was concluded.
“He was shot in the chest and in his head. He fell down immediately and gave up the ghost”, the Imam of the mosque, Ustaz Abdullahi Sheka told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND.?
Malama Umma Sule looks back on events of that fateful day. “Our husband came back to the house a few minutes before Magrib (evening) prayer. He performed his ablution and set out for the mosque to pray.
We all prayed for him but unknown to us, that would be the last time we will see him alive. When we heard the gun shots, I screamed. That was the third time I had ever heard a gunshot in my life time. As I was narrating that in the house, a young boy rushed into the house.
He was crying, looking at us soberly, unable to reveal to us that our husband was killed by unknown gunmen. It dawned on me that the sound of the gunshot I heard was the one that felled my beloved husband. “
Inside the mosque, people that converged to say their prayer were devastated by the ensuing pandemonium that followed thereafter. Five people, who used to pray in the same mosque were now dead and gone forever. The dead bodies were evacuated from the mosque and the blood stain that spread inside the mosque was later washed.?
Alhaji Ya’u father of one of the victims shot by the gunmen looked at the incident philosophically, describing what happened as an act of God. According to Alhaji Ya’u, the death of his son, Sagiru Ya’u was an act that no human being can prevent from happening. “God Almighty has wished that he will die at that moment and he must die according to that plan. He died and is no more, what is left is for us to pray for the repose of his gentle soul.”
Alhaji Ya’u said as far as he is concerned, he never heard about any acrimony between his son and any member of the Boko Haram sect. “So, when I heard that the Boko Haram sect was looking for him and eventually killed him last Friday, I was shocked but I leave the matter to God Almighty who will judge.”
Residents of the area were shocked by the incident told our correspondent that all the victims were of good character and lived with their neighbours peacefully.
“None of them ever had a quarrel with the people here. Now that they are gone we will continue to pray for them and support their families according to our ability. We will never let their families down; we will rally round to support them in all their endeavors”, one of his neighbours, Auwalu Sheka said.????????