The Nigerian Army on Thursday, January 26, 2017, said it had taken into custody three suspected Boko Haram terrorists handed over to it by Zurmi Emirate Council in Zamfara.
Colonel Abdullahi Adamu, the commanding officer, 223 Light Tank Battalion of Tactical Operation Unit, Gusau said the suspects were apprehended by the local vigilante in the area.
Adamu, who displayed the arms recovered from the suspects, said the three suspects had been moved to the 1 Division, Nigerian Army Kaduna for interrogation.
He said the arms recovered were AK 47 riffles, over 600 ammunitions, illicit drugs, charms and other belongings.
He said, “Based on our preliminary investigation, we discovered that the suspects may be connected to the fleeing Boko Haram members who were recently disbanded by the military from Sambisa forest of Borno state.”
He commended the emirate council and local vigilantes for their efforts in arresting criminal elements in the state.
The Emir of Zurmi, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku said the arrest of the suspected Boko haram members was part of the directive to district heads of the emirate, to monitor and report to security agencies any new face or suspicious movement in their respective communities.
The emir said information on the suspects was first forwarded by the District Head of Mashema about five days ago, when he reported that 11 suspicious persons were seen hiding in the bushes.
Atiku therefore urged the army and other security agencies to track the remaining suspects.
Late December 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari declared victory over the Islamist terrorist group after Nigerian troops announced that they have recaptured Camp Zero in Sambisa forest, the base of the deadliest terrorist group in the world.
The Nigerian Army later presented the president with the flag belonging to the terrorist group in a “mission accomplished” ceremony.
Since the declaration a week ahead of Christmas Day 2016, Boko Haram has launched a number of deadly attacks in the North Eastern region of the country where the terrorists have murdered at least 50,000 since they began their campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate in the country. (NAN)
