A 15-year-old bomb-making prodigy no longer has to use his deadly talents after being recovered from Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram in the West African nation of Nigeria.
Ali Goni confessed to making more than 500 underwear Improvised Explosive Devices for suicide bombers in Boko Haram, which is also known as the Islamic State in West Africa. The exact date of Ali Goni’s escape was not stated in a press release from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Goni was 10-years-old when he and his mother were captured in Bama, an eastern Nigerian city that Boko Haram captured in 2014. He became the terrorist group’s “most deadly” member after militants selected him for their bomb-making team, reported NAN. (RELATED: UK Couple In Critical Condition Near Ex-Russian Spy Poisoning Attack)
“I refused initially, but they said they would kill my mother just like the way they killed my father when they stormed Bama,” Goni said, reported NAN. “So I eventually agreed. During the training, many of my colleagues died while trying to make bombs. At the end I emerged the best among all.”
Goni’s fellow bomb-makers were killed during military raids, and he became a prized possession of Boko Haram, which moved him from camp to camp to make suicide bombs.
“I managed to escape when the military bombed our camp in Baga,” Goni said, reported NAN. “I ran to Cameroon where I surrendered to the Cameroonian forces. I was later handed over to the Nigeria military.”
Goni is being detained and treated at a military camp in Maiduguri, a city about 50 miles away from the town of Bama where he was captured. When he is an adult, Goni wants to be a soldier who can help the Nigerian military combat insurgents’ explosives, reported NAN.
Boko Haram is one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups. It became internationally known when the group captured more than 250 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 2014.
Follow Evie on Twitter @eviefordham.
Send tips to evie@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.