Several terrorists belonging to the dreaded Boko Haram sect have found themselves in hot soup after fleeing from Sambisa forest.
File photo
The suspected Boko Haram members numbering up to about 10, have been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force.
The terrorists who reportedly fled Sambisa Forest in Borno State were arrested by the police in Dogarawa area of Sabon Gari, Zaria.
According to Daily Trust, the men were arrested following intelligence report.
“Some good Samaritans volunteered information to us on the activities of the suspects. We immediately mobilised with about 100 mobile police and we successfully surrounded the house the suspects were living in. We were able to apprehend them and they are in our custody at our headquarters,” Muhammad D. Shehu, police area commander in charge of Zaria, said.
He explained that preliminary interrogation had shown that the suspects were formally at Darul Islam in Niger state, but moved to Sambisa forest to join Boko Haram when the settlement was sacked by the then state government.
Shehu said the ongoing onslaught by Armed Forces in the Northeast had forced the suspects to relocate to Zaria.
“Only God knows their mission here in Zaria, but my chat with them revealed that the guys were notorious. There was no sign of remorse with them. They were insisting that what they were doing was the right thing to do. This is why we are urging Nigerians to be wary of the people they live within their communities and report any suspicious movement to security agencies,” Shehu said.
Many residents of Dogarawa interviewed by our correspondent were not aware of the arrest, but they confirmed that people from different parts of the country had settled there.
Dogarawa is a suburb on the outskirt of the ancient city along the Zaria-Kano express road. The settlement is housing the Sabon Gari local government secretariat where a suicide bomber recently detonated a bomb, killing many school teachers and other civil servants undergoing a screening exercise.
Also, sometimes in 2013, a Boko Haram kingpin was arrested at Kwantareshen, a neighbouring community to Dogarawa.
Security agents have in the past raided suspected hideouts of Boko Haram members at Kwangila and Gaskiya layout areas of the ancient city.