This Nigerian man a long time ago held a suicide bomber but died in the process. Why did he do that?

On the 25th of Jan 2017, Yakubu Fanami, an SS1 student sacrificed his life by restraining a female suicide bomber from gaining access to a Mosque at Kaleri, Borno. He and the suicide bomber exploded. His heroic act saved hundreds of lives that day.

He sacrificed his life for the sake of other people, what heroic act and highest level of kindness.

At the time, Yakubu was an SS1 student in a secondary school in Kalare, Borno.

Yakubu’s mother, Altine Musa, is still grieving her son’s death.

She recalled that he went to pray at the Friday mosque that day, and when she heard the deafening sound of a detonated bomb, she rushed outside, telling people that her son was there at the mosque.

However, they held her back, saying she could not go further. Later, she learned of his death and was asked if she was ready to see his corpse, to which she replied, “Yes.”

She described her son as one of the most generous people she had ever known, saying his willingness to help people around him always awed her.

A Chief Imam, Mallam Muhammad Musa, said no one had ever imagined that a mosque guard like Yakubu could die for others.

“We never imagined him giving out his life to protect them,” said the chief Imam.

“That was a boundary everybody was shocked he could cross.”

He added that Yakubu died a martyr, and Allah would surely reward him.

This bravery earned him posthumous unofficial heroism. Although no-one could tell if his family was compensated.

The Imam accused the government of neglecting them, stating that there was no intervention by the government to help the victims of the bombing.

Survivors and victims of the attack also remember Yakubu. Umar Ali, a survivor of the attack, recalls that they were all outside when the female suicide bomber appeared, wearing a long hijab.

One of the elderly guards asked her to lift her hijab and reveal what she was holding, but she refused.

Yakubu then carried a stick and attempted to hit her with it, which scared her, and they both exploded.

The elderly guard lost an eye from the attack. The explosion threw them in different directions, but Yakubu died instantly.

Saleh Amin, Director of Darussalam Academy, where Yakubu was once a student, described him as a “regular and cooperative student.”

”The news of his death was a shock to the entire school.

“It’s exceptional for you to sacrifice your life for others. Nobody expected him to go to that extent,” Amin said.

Fatima Sulaiman, one of Yakubu’s teachers at the school, remembers Yakubu carrying her eight-month-old baby a day before he died.

“When we received news of his death, we couldn’t teach, even the students were crying,” she said.

Yakubu’s friend Abduljabbar Abba said he wasn’t surprised that Yakubu acted heroically.

He recalled that Yakubu had a keen sense of responsibility and would never shy away from helping others.

“He was always there for people,” he said.

“He was a friend indeed.” Yakubu’s sacrifice is a testament to his bravery, selflessness, and love for others.

Boko Haram’s unending reign

The Boko Haram menace has taken the lives of countless innocent Nigerians. According to an estimate published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), insurgency-related conflicts have claimed about 350,000 lives in the northeastern part of Nigeria up to the end of 2020.

The sect on December 24, 2003, carried out its first attack on police stations in Geiam and Kanamma in Yobe State, raising the flag of the Afghanistan Taliban.

Since then, the sect has proceeded to carry out numerous attacks across Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and the Niger Republic. In 2017 alone, the sect launched 90 armed assaults and 59 suicide attacks across Nigeria, claiming the lives of many innocent Nigerians and destroying properties worth millions of Naira.

While carrying out their numerous gun attacks and bombings, the insurgents also used suicide bombers, targeting public-dominated places, especially worship centres.