Lokoja—The Nigerian Army, yesterday in Lokoja, paraded 17 criminals, including two kingpins of the Boko Haram sect.
Apart from the members of the Boko Haram, those arrested and paraded also include the hoodlums that attacked a police station in Eika, Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, where two police officers were killed about three weeks ago.
The Commander, Army Record Command, Lokoja, Kogi State, Brig-Gen Henry Ayamasowe, while parading the suspects before the state governor, Yahaya Bello, at the Chari Megumeri Barracks, said they were picked up following a special operation.
He said the operation, led by Lt. Col A. Ayoola, combed the entire central senatorial district of the state for about three days before the breakthrough was recorded. The suspects and recovered arms and ammunition. He said the operation also led to the arrest of armed robbers and kidnappers that had been terrorising the state in the past few months.
Ayamasowe stressed that insurgents had been trooping down to the state in the last three years, giving rise to the presence of Boko Haram members in the state. He said the Boko Haram kingpins were arrested in one of the sect’s cell in Okene, after a manhunt by men of the Nigerian Army.
According to him, dangerous weapons including AK 47 rifles, EIDs, 19 face masks with Boko Haram Arabic inscription, locally-made guns, phones, SIM cards, among others, were recovered from the criminals. S
peaking at the parade, Governor Bello stated that all the houses where the people were arrested would be demolished to serve as deterrent to others that are involved in criminal activities.
Source – Vanguard
