More Boko Haram members in Ondo, suspect says

A suspected Boko Haram member arrested by the police in Ondo State, Mohammed Bashir, has revealed that more members of the sect are in hiding in the state.

Mr. Bashir was nabbed by security operatives on Sunday at Isua Akoko, in the northern senatorial district of the state and has been speaking to the police on his sojourn in the area.

The suspect, who was paraded by the police on Tuesday at the police headquarters in Akure, said he only joined the sect eight months ago and had killed only two persons.

Police said the suspect was arrested while “loitering” along Isua-Ifira Akoko road.

The arrest of the suspect linked to the Islamic sect in the Akoko area is the second within one week.

Mr. Bashir, who claimed to be 20 years old, hails from Nasarawa State, North-central Nigeria.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Gbenga Adeyanju, told journalists that he had received directive to hand the suspect over to the Nigerian Army.

He said Mr. Bashir was arrested almost at the same spot a member of the sect was arrested last week.

Reacting to the revelation that there are more members of the dreaded sect in the state, Mr. Adeyanju said his men were equal to the task.

“If he says that there are many of them in the state, we will get them,” Mr. Adeyanju said.

“We will not reveal what we are going to do and how we will carry out our operations, but we will get them.”

Last week Tuesday, a wanted member of the sect, Idris Ibrahim Babawo, was picked by local vigilante group and handed over to the police.

The suspect was found to be a wanted member of the sect when the Nigerian Army took him into custody.