BOKO HARAM IN LAGOS: 42 Suspects Arrested

42 suspected members of  Boko Haram  were on Monday paraded by the  81 Division of the Nigerian Army  in Lagos.

They were nabbed between July 12 and July 23 in various parts of Lagos and Ogun states

According to the Nigerian Army, the suspects fled  from  Borno State following a state of emergency  declared by the Federal Government.

Although most of the suspects spoke in Hausa language,  a few  who  managed to communicate   in pidgin, confessed that they had been involved in terrorist activities in the past.

One of them,  Hassan Ibrahim, who  admitted recruiting some of the suspects, disclosed that he, accompanied by Ibrahim Ismail and Alhaji Black,  killed a soldier and a civilian  identified only as Buka in  Maiduguri.

He said, “We rode  a tricycle in Maiduguri and killed a soldier and one Buka. It was Alhaji Black that pulled the trigger. We also carried out some other operations in the area.

“Later, I met both Ismaili and Alhaji Black in Lagos, while I was riding okada (motorcycle).”

Black, who was  also accused by Ismail of being a member of the sect,  denied the accusation. He said he had been riding a motorcycle in Lagos in the past five years, adding that he was arrested during a raid in Kirikiri, a surburb of Lagos.

Some of the other suspects denied being terrorists, saying that they had been in Lagos for many years.

The General Officer Commanding  the  81 Division,Maj.- Gen. Obi Umahi, said the suspects were arrested during  raids  by intelligence operatives. He  explained the raid was carried out following intelligence report that   the sect planned to unleash terror on parts of the South-West.

He said the raids were conducted at Ibafo trailer park    and Ileke new trailer garage in Ogun State; Aviation quarters at Mafoluku, Oshodi; Ketu/Mile 12 Motor Park; Orile Trailer Park; Lekki new extension and Bar Beach.

These places, according to him, were fast becoming Boko Haram enclaves.

Umahi said that during interrogation,some of the suspects  gave useful information that led to the  arrest of  others.

The GOC said, “From investigations, we cannot say if they are in Lagos to stage an attack or running for their lives. Investigations would reveal that,” he said.

The Director, State Security Service, Lagos State Command, Mr. Ben Olayi, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said the sudden interest in Lagos State by the suspected sect members was predictable because Lagos has a special status.

Olayi said the SSS was collaborating with its sister agencies in the state to make sure that no terror plot succeeded.

He said, “We will not stop doing what we have been doing in terms of security. We will keep monitoring them (terrorists). We had anticipated that when the heat was much for them in the North, some of them would come to Lagos because Lagos is always the city of first choice.

“We have not made any arrests in recent times but we have been giving other security agencies information which they have been using to make arrests.”

Source: Legit.ng