Basilan governor insists Janjalani is dead

He’s dead, finally and truly dead.

Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar insisted yesterday that Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani is already dead and buried somewhere in a town in Basilan.

The governor has already sent his people to search for the grave where the Muslim extremists buried their leader.

"I am very sure of my revelation. We already know in which town he (Janjalani) was buried, but now we’re looking for the exact spot," Akbar said.

"I’ve already sent some people there to look for the grave but we cannot yet reveal which town this is," the governor added, reiterating that his information on the death of Janjalani is "A-1."

But sources at the Philippine National Police doubted the pronouncements of Akbar who said the Abu Sayyaf leader was killed last month after he was seriously wounded during an exchange of gunfire in Tuburan town.

The PNP’s and the Armed Forces’ Joint Crisis Committee in Zamboanga City is reviewing the statements of freed hostage Francis Ganzon that he saw Janjalani two days before he was released, sources said.

"There is a big possibility that Janjalani is still alive. We cannot officially say he is dead until we have concrete evidence. The report is 50-50," a ranking official told The STAR yesterday.

Akbar said Janjalani was buried three days earlier somewhere in Tuburan town, where a larger group of bandits is hiding together with the remaining seven hostages from Palawan and five from Lamitan.

Akbar declined to name the exact place in the province where he sent his assets to search for the grave because the bandits might retake their leader’s cadaver and bury it in another place.

"One of these days we will exhume his body to prove my disclosure," the governor said.