Boko Haram: Security alert across S/West states

Commissioners of Police in the South West geo-political zone and those of adjoining states have said that security has been beefed up in their states against infiltration by fleeing Boko Haram suspects, while residents have been told to report strange faces to them anytime such are sighted.

The security measures followed the recent arrest of suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect in Oyo and Lagos states.

All the police commands said they were working round the clock to avoid the spread of terrorism to their states even as some of them said, so far, they had not made arrests.

It will be recalled that the State Security Service (SSS) disclosed on Wednesday that fleeing Boko Haram suspects were arrested in some states in the country while the Lagos State Police Command also nabbed 84 suspects along the waterways in the state on Thursday.

Already, the Oyo State Police Command has referred to crack detectives the cases of two suspects nabbed some days ago in Ibadan, the state capital.

The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Sam Adegbuyi, who spoke through the Police Public Relations Officer, Kunle Ajisebutu confirmed that the state had had two suspects between late 2016 and in the last one week but said that there had been no confirmation of their statuses.

“The cases are under investigation at the State Criminal and Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan,” he said.

One of the suspects, it was learnt, was arrested at the Alalubosa Government Reservation Area (GRA) of Ibadan some days ago by some security agents from the Iyaganku Division of the state police command.

The suspect, Alkali, who has remained in police custody since then, was said to have escaped from Sambisa Forest in Borno State, the former enclave of the insurgent group, along with other members who were said to have found their way to Lagos State.

He was initially said to have been accosted by some Hausa traders plying their trades at the Mobil Area of the popular Ring Road, but escaped from them while being interrogated by a leader of the Hausa community, only to be found at the Alalubosa GRA by some people who notified the police of the presence of the stranger in the neighbourhood.

He was said to have been subjected to several rounds of investigations, both at the state CID and the Iyaganku Division, even as a reliable police source disclosed that the suspect had made useful statements to the police.

“I reliably gathered that the suspect has made some useful confessions. He was said to have admitted to being the armourer of the Boko Haram sect and found on him was some undisclosed amount of money. More frightening is the confession he was said to have made to the effect that their targets of attack are bus stops and market places in the South West.

“As I speak with you, the suspect is still in police custody, and kept in one of the safest cells. He was arrested on Sunday night and he had been variously interrogated, both at the Iyaganku Division where he was initially taken to and at the state CID. He has been returned to the Iyaganku Division for further investigation.

“If he is not a Boko Haram suspect, why did he flee from his people who were questioning his strange appearance on his arrival at Mobil, Ring Road on Sunday evening? Why was he found roaming about the street within the Alalubosa GRA where he was eventually arrested by the police if he is an innocent man who has a destination?” the source queried.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State, Dolapo Badmos also said that the police had not recorded any arrest of Boko Haram suspects in the state.

The Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Ahmed Iliyasu, also said that the state command not made any arrest, saying that his command was on top of the situation as it was working in synergy with other security agencies in the state.

“We are monitoring every aspect of security but so far, there is nothing like arrest of Boko Haram,”

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti State, Albert Adeyemi, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Wilson Inalegwu, said that the state command had not arrested any suspect.

The same goes for the Osun State Police Command as the Commissioner of Police, Olafimihan Adeoye, who spoke through the state PPRO, Folasade Odoro, told Saturday Tribune that Osun State had not arrested any Boko Haram suspects.

However, the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, Olusola Amore, said he could not say yes or no because Northerners come towards the Southern part of Nigeria during dry season to do menial jobs while they return to the North during planting season to farm.

This he said sometimes makes people to suspect those they see, but added that residents had been encouraged to always alert the security agents whenever they see any strange face. He recalled the arrest of a suspect who was reported to the police, adding that when he was interrogated, the police discovered that he was from Kebbi State.

“We arraigned him in court and he was remanded in our custody, but aside that there has been no arrest  of Boko Haram suspects,” Amore stated.

In a telephone interview, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Abdullahi Chafe while speaking with Saturday Tribune, said his command had not recorded any arrest of Boko Haram suspect since the capture of Sambisa Forest.

He disclosed that the command only arrested a man who was suspected to be a Boko Haram member two months ago but the suspect was transferred to Abuja for further investigation. “We were not sure, but he looked to be part of them so we transferred him to Abuja,” CP Chafe said.

In Anambra State, The Commissioner of Police, Sam Okaula simply responded to Saturday Tribune’s enquiry: “I don’t have anything like that here.”

In a related development, several people were reportedly killed in an early morning bomb attack in Madagali town, Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, on Friday.

An eyewitness who identified himself simply as Baba said the bomb blast occurred at the entrance of the town, adding, “We heard three blasts near the checkpoint where people gathered to be screened before entering the town as you know today is market day. The suicide bombers blew themselves up alongside the two vigilante members that approached them.”

Adamu Kamale, a member of the House of Representatives, representing Madagali/Michika Federal Constituency, said he got the report but the information did not reveal any death.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has admitted that 204 people had been killed in the clashes between Fulani herdsmen and locals in the crisis which began in Southern Kaduna last year.

While the Catholic Church had earlier said 808 people were killed as of December 2016, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Friday, put the figure at 204.

NEMA North West Zonal Coordinator, Musa Ilella, said the figure was for two local government areas affected by the crisis, Kafanchan and Chikunk, adding that the deaths were recorded between October 2016 and early January, 2017.