War Against Boko Haram: Nigerian Police Arrest Chief, 6 Suspects

The battle against Boko Haram wages on in Nigeria as six suspected members of the Islamist group, including a senior leader, have been arrested by the Lagos Civilian Joint Task Force at Nigeria’s economic city of Lagos.

Task Force head Alhaji Mustapha Mohammed, who described all suspects as looking unkempt and showing signs of starvation, says the police have clamped down on all suspects and they have been turned over to Nigeria’s Department of State Services after their capture Friday.

Mohamed revealed:

“We are from Borno, where these terrorists come from, and we know their communities. Our people back home do monitor them, and once they leave Maiduguri, we will be alerted so that we can be on the lookout. Once they arrive in any community in Lagos, our members are always on the ground to fish them out based on intelligence reports.

Adam is one of the top most wanted Boko Haram members on the wanted list of the military. We got [an] intelligence report that Adam was hiding inside an abandoned 40-feet container in church premises.

It was the security man attached to the church that hid him inside the container…. The pastor of the church was embarrassed to see us, but by the time we explained our mission to him, he, in company with others, gave us the go-ahead, and by the time we broke open the padlock, Adam was hiding in the far corner of the container.”

Earlier, the town of Borno State got attacked by Boko Haram militants killing two soldiers and 16 Islamists as disturbing reports showed how the militants raided the town overnight on motorcycles opening fire at homes and innocent residents.

In June, Boko Haram militants sacked the neighboring Wumbi and Jikana villages outside Rann, killing eight people and looting food supplies as they continued to spread havoc in northern Nigeria, which has led to the displacement of more than 2.6 million people since 2009.