The Many Sins Of Zakari Biu; Commissioner Who Cut Loose Madalla Bomber

The Many Sins Of Zakari Biu; Cutting Loose The Madalla Bomber - His Nemesis

   Hafis Ringim                         Zakari Biu.

Many will remember Biu as Abacha’s anti-terrorism chief who unleashed terror on government’s perceived opponents.

Many deaths were linked to him, notably those of Bagauda Kaltho, a journalist working for TheNEWS magazine, and Dr. Sola Omatsola, former Chief Security Officer of Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The latest case that has landed Biu in trouble and perhaps his nemesis started last Friday. Kabiru Sokoto, a Boko Haram suspect, was arrested after the police swooped on the Borno State Governor’s lodge in Abuja.

Things however took another turn when news filtered in that the suspect had escaped while he was being taken to a location in Abaji where he owns a house.

Suspected members of the Boko Haram sect reportedly ambushed the vehicle in which only four police officers were taking him to Abaji were he lives to conduct a search in his house. 

Some Of The Notable Sins And Controversies Surrounding Zakari Biu Include:

The yet-unresolved murder of Kaltho.
Kaltho was killed when a bomb exploded in the bathroom of his hotel. Biu, then an Assistant Commissioner, claimed that the journalist died while trying to plant the bomb in the hotel.

The Apo 6 killings.
Zakari Biu was accused of ordering his boys to kill six Igbo traders for making passes at the same girl with him, even when he already had three wives at home.

The Killing of Dr. Sola Omatsola,

 former Chief Security Officer of Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Among many others.

Professor Wole Soyinka, in an interview with TheNEWS magazine in January 2010, described Biu as a “well-known torturer” who could be readily available to work for al-Qaeda. 

Many are asking how he got back into the force, much less being allowed to handle this kind of investigation.

Especially as he was dismissed from the force during the Obasonjo Administration.