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| File: Boko Haram suspects paraded by the police PHOTO: Evelyn Usman. |
Forty Eight hours after the killing of a
vigilante youth by a policeman in Maiduguri, Borno State, members of the
state’s Vigilance Youth Group, BVYG, have arrested 19 Boko Haram terror
suspects in five villages of Konduga Local Government Area.
The arrest of the suspects last Monday,
according to a vigilante youth, Ibrahim Yakub, was made in a three-day “search
and hunt” of fleeing Boko Haram sect members at Konduga town and neighbouring
villages of the council.
Konduga, which is 40 kilometres East of
Maiduguri, the state capital, was where 55 people, including eight policemen
and soldiers, were killed in August by the insurgents at a place of worship.
Speaking on the arrest yesterday in
Maiduguri, one of the youths, Abubakar Goni Adam, said the 19 terror
suspects were pursued to the villages of Konduga and communities bordering
Sambisa Games Reserves Forest.
“The fleeing Boko Haram sect members had
been hiding in the forests, but with the destruction of their training camps
and hideouts by Special Operational Forces of Nigerian Army in June, the sect
members fled to towns and villages bordering the forests.
“Our members had to intervene and act in
tracking down these people that attack and kill in affected areas of the state.
With the assistance of soldiers and the police, we are able to arrest 19
suspects along with some rifles and ammunition at Konduga at the weekend,” he
said.
Vanguard also learned that the arrested
suspects were tied with their hands behind their backs before they were
transported to Maiduguri and handed to soldiers of 7 Division of Nigerian Army
yesterday.
Borno State Police Commissioner, Lawal
Tanko, also yesterday confirmed the arrests of the terror suspects by the
youths.
He said some rifles and ammunition were
recovered by youths from the fleeing Boko Haram sect members.
Tanko said: “Our attention now has
concentrated on the patrol of these towns and villages on market days; as the
gunmen take advantage of market days to launch attacks on innocent people.”
Source - Vanguard
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