Suicide bombing is an act whereby an individual
personally delivers explosives and detonates
them with the sole aim of inflicting the greatest
possible damage, killing himself in the process in
order to serve the interests of the sponsoring
individuals or organisations.
Records have revealed that suicide bombers are
capable of carrying out very wicked, audacious
and highly destructive acts that are shocking on
the account of their specific intention to destroy
critical infrastructure and kill mostly
unsuspecting civilians or injure anyone within the
range of the explosion. But if I may ask, what
kind of a person would sacrifice his life in order
to kill innocent people and what would possibly
motivate that person to take the offer of
becoming a suicide bomber?
In the wake of several tragic incidents, the
government, civil society as well as security
agencies have always found it difficult to
objectively analyse the causes and processes
through which suicide bombings are carried out
since there is no single theory as to what brings
about such wicked act. Although many people
have cited negative indoctrination, radicalisation
and religion as prime motivators but the act
involved a wide variety of motivation including
politics, quest for revenge, humiliation as well as
altruism.
The willingness of the perpetrator to kill himself
shows a very high symbolic value and dedication
to whatever may be his cause. However, the
truth is that suicide bombing has become a most
accessible weapon of choice available to the
terrorist groups because of its cost-effectiveness,
lethality, ability to cause confusion as well as
the tremendous amount of publicity and fear it
generates as clearly witnessed in the series of
bomb attacks across the nation. For example,
immediately after the last blast, the usual crowd
witnessed at motor parks, night clubs and other
social event centres, in no time, disappeared
because of the wide speculations through the
media that there was likely to be another bomb
attack in those areas. This is a classical example
of the effect of fears associated with terrorism.
Characteristics of a potential suicide bomber
There is no specific profile for anyone who
engages himself in suicide bombing. A suicide
bomber can come from nearly every cultural
background, religion, race, creed or gender.
However, the following are common
characteristics of a potential suicide bomber.
Through his behaviour
• He behaves in a way similar to someone with
no future.
• His mental state could present clues – his eyes
are secretive, he makes obvious attempt to avoid
eye contact with the people he perceived to be
his enemies and always looking at every possible
exit.
• Mumbling prayers – may be fervently praying
to himself, showing the impression of whispering
to someone else.
• He shows no response to any authoritative
voice, command or instruction.
Through his appearance
• He wears clothes that are unsuitable for the
present-day weather. For instance, wearing of
sweater or rain-coat during hot weather.
• He wears slack or puffy clothes. This gives the
impression that his body is excessively larger
than his head or feet.
• Sweating – resulting from tension and stress
or wearing of unsuitable clothes. For instance,
wearing a heavy coat during high weather
temperature.
• He appears to be focused and more vigilant on
his target.
• He will usually have his hands placed in the
pocket, around the button of the detonator and
ready to set off the bomb at the slightest
opportunity.
• He carries big bags or backpacks tightly with
wires piercing out of the bag.
• He may most likely have a clean shave or low
hair-cut especially when he is ready to carry out
the task. This may be done to disguise his real
appearance.
• He displays signs of drug use. For instance, his
pupils become enlarged with fixed staring.
• His breathings are heavy and rapid.
• Mostly male who falls between the age range
of 16 to 30 years of age.
• He looks aggressive, restless, irritable and
nervous.
Through his movement
• He walks awkwardly or clumsily in an unusual
and odd manner. This is usually due to the
unsuitable attire he is wearing and sometimes
due to the weight of the explosive devices tied
around his body.
• He tries to be evasive in movement. This
unusual gait is adopted to evade security agents
and some other persons who may foil his plans.
• Often times, he may not know the route to his
target destination very well, hence he may
occasionally ask for directions. One of the
suicide bombers that struck at a church in
Kaduna in late 2013 had to ask commercial
motorcyclists for direction to the church he
eventually struck.
Through his kind of person/other features
• He tries to blend into a group which he clearly
does not belong to. For instance, he tries to
attend Church worship services even as a non-
Christian with clear intention to carry out
surveillance and identify vulnerable areas before
attack.
• He demonstrates forceful actions in order to
reach his desired target by pushing the crowd so
as to find his way into a restricted area or
showing desperations to reach a crowded point
or particular target.
• He will usually have an unusual herbal smell.
This is as a result of incense used in the final
rituals performed on him as he takes off for the
suicide mission.
• Culled from Frank Mba’s blog
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