Members of a local vigilante group in Lagos have arrested six members of the Boko Haram insurgents on the wanted list of the military in Borno State.
Head of the vigilante group who doubles as the Mai-Kanuribe of Lagos and the Seriki Hausawa of Ijora Kingdom, Alhaji Mustapha Mohammed, told Daily Trust that the suspects’ identities marched those on the list of 100 most wanted terrorists released by the military, and that five of the suspects were arrested on Friday by members of his group.
He disclosed that the sixth suspect identified as Adam was arrested from where he was hiding in an abandoned container inside a church in FESTAC town. He identified the other five suspects as Ibrahim Ali, Abubakar Ahmed, Goigoi Kamsalem, Ibrahim Mohammed and Banagana Blam Ali.
He said while Abubakar Ahmed, Goigoi Kamsalem and Ibrahim Mohammed hail from Baga Local Government Area of Borno State, Ibrahim Ali hails from Bama and Babagana Blam Ali from Konduga LGA of Borno State.
According to reports, Ibrahim Ali and Babagana Blam Ali were both arrested by the vigilantes who raided their hideout at Isheri area of Berger toll gate, while Abubakar Ahmed, Goigoi Kamsalem and Ibrahim Mohammed were arrested at Victoria Island area of Lagos where they had gone to stay with friends.
Mustapha Mohammed told Daily Trust that the suspects were currently being moved back to Borno State.
Revealing how his men got Adam, Mohammed said, “We got an intelligence report that Adam was hiding inside the container in the church premises. It was the security man attached to the church that hid him inside the container. When we arrived the church premises, we headed straight to where the container was kept. The security man was not around then and the container was locked from the outside with a padlock.
“The Pastor of the Church was embarrassed to see us, but by the time we explained our mission to him, he, along with others, stood aside to see and by the time we broke open the padlock, behold Adam was hiding in the far corner of the container. As soon as the pastor sighted the suspect, he started singing praises.”
Mohammed who hails from Borno State but said he had lived in Lagos since 1970, said while addressing journalists that his group was determined to protect Lagos from the carnage of the Boko Haram sect.
He disclosed that his group had commenced operation in the state since 2011, and that Boko Haram would have succeeded in bombing some installations in the state safe for its efforts, and that several suspects his group arrested in the past were either handed over to the director of State Security Service (SSS), Shangisha, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 2, or the state commissioner of police.
On how the suspects were recognised as members of Boko Haram, he said, “You know we are from Borno where these people also hail from and we know their communities. Our people back home do monitor them, and once they leave Maiduguri, we would be alerted so that we can be on the lookout. Once they arrive any community in Lagos, our members are always on ground to fish them out.”
Stressing that he had been personally financing the activities of his group, Mohammed appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for support.
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