16:28
The DSS – Department of State Service’s has arrested 20
suspected leaders of the sect across the Nigeria.
Nigeria's security agency said on Sunday it had made
significant breakthroughs in the fight against Boko Haram and arrested 20
prominent members of the militant Islamist group accused of orchestrating
deadly attacks.
They are Usman Shuaibu (a.k.a. Money) Ahmed
Mohammed (a.k.a. Abubakar), Adamu Abubakar, (a.k.a. Baba), Ibrahim Musa,
Mustapha Yusuf (a.k.a. Mohammed Sanni), Bakura Modu, Mustapha Ali Jamner, Abuji
Sheriff, Babagana Ali, Babagana Soloy, Abba Modu Sagma, Grema Abubakar and
Tijani Bagudu.
Others are Baba Alhaji, Abbas Ibrahim, Ibrahim
Audu, Ibrahim Haruna, Mallam Ali Mohammodu, Adam Waki Abdul Jilbe and Mohammed
Usman.
The
Department of State Services (DSS) said on Sunday that 20 "notable
commanders and frontline members" of the jihadist group had been arrested
in Lagos, Kano, Plateau, Enugu and Gombe states between July 8 and Aug. 25 this
year.
The
DSS said it had arrested those suspected of co-ordinating attacks earlier this
year in the northern cities of Potiskum, Kano and Zaria, as well as the central
city of Jos, adding that a number of them had made confessions.
"This followed the rounding up of notable commanders
and frontline members of the notorious group from different parts of the
country," DSS spokesman Tony Opuiyo said in a statement.
Providing
an unusual level of detail, the DSS said one of those arrested, Usman Shuaibu,
had confessed to leading a team of nine militants which planned several
attacks. Others were accused of ordering attacks, preparing bombs and strapping
explosives to suicide bombers.
"The arrest of Usman Shuaibu, aka. Money,
and the core members of his cell, stemmed the spate of bombings by the
extremist sect," said Opuiyo.
Boko Haram's campaign to create a state adhering to
strict Islamic law in the northeast of Africa's most populous country has left
thousands dead and forced around 1.5 million people to flee their homes since
2009.
The insurgents scattered earlier this year after an
army counter-offensive, but have since returned to a strategy of selective
attacks in which they have bombed or fired on targets in public places such as
markets and places of worship.
Opuiyo said the geographical spread of the arrests
suggested the militants were moving beyond their usual targets in the northeast
to other areas, including Lagos state.
On Saturday, the DSS said it had uncovered a spy cell
run by militants at the international airport in the capital Abuja, apparently
aimed at selecting targets for attack.
Buhari has been working with neighbouring states to
set up an 8,700-strong regional military task force to fight the insurgency.
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