Another 52 Boko Haram Members Apprehended In Biu

Nigerian security operatives have arrested more than 50 Boko Haram militants in separate operations in Biu, Borno State, between yesterday and today, two military sources have disclosed.

The militants rode into Biu in a truck. The insurgents were arrested after the truck driver alerted security agents at a checkpoint that some of his passengers had threatened to kill him if he refused to take them out of Borno State. Continue...

Two security sources at Biu barracks confirmed the arrests over the phone. “We arrested over 50 members of the Islamic sect following tips we got from the driver as well as locals. I can tell you they are cooperating and giving us useful information,” the security source said.

Aliyu Mamza, a member of a civilian volunteer group, said his group was involved in the arrests. He said his group found 46 suspected militants in a section of the truck underneath cows. He said the space was usually reserved for goats.

In a separate development, civilian security volunteers picked up six other suspected militants today at Biu bus station. A member of the civilian vigilante group said his members arrested the suspected insurgents after they had boarded a vehicle that was about to depart.

Boko Haram militants have suffered serious setbacks in the last two weeks, with Nigerian troops routing them in Konduga and Bazza, killing hundreds of the insurgents and seizing their weapons.