The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman,
said on Tuesday that troops had arrested a financier of the Boko
Haram insurgents in Borno State.
Usman said in a statement that that the man, identified as
Mohammed Maina, was arrested in Bama with N1m cash on
him.
He said that the suspect was also a supplier of kola nuts and
other stimulants to the insurgents.
The Army spokesman said that the suspect, a native of Shuari
Village in Bama Local Government Area, might have been
collecting monetary contributions from Boko Haram
sympathisers along the Maiduguri-Dikwa-Kulli axis of the state.
“In a related development, troops have also intercepted and
arrested a suspected Boko Haram financier and stimulants
dealer, Mohammed Maina, in Bama, Bama Local Government
Area of Borno State.
“The suspect, a native of Ngurosoye, came from Shuari village
in Bama LGA, and he was arrested with the sum of N1m cash
and some items.
“Investigation revealed that Mohammed supplies them kola nuts
and other items especially stimulants. He further revealed that
kola nuts are in high demand among the terrorists, as the
product keeps them active at night.
“It is apparent also that he plies Maiduguri-Dikwa-Kulli axis
where he gathers monetary and other material contributions
from Boko Haram sympathisers along that axis and send same
to the terrorists camps,” the statement read in part.
Usman stated also that the soldiers of the 112 Battalion and
some Special Forces carried out a joint raid on Boko Haram’s
camps at Bulungwa Naibe in Dikwa Local Government Area of
Borno State on Monday and recovered some items from them.
He stated also that several of the insurgents were killed in the
operation.
He said that the items recovered from them included “one
Buffalo vehicle mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, a rocket-
propelled grenade, two machine guns and one sub-machine gun,
five AK-47, one Fabrique nationale rifle and two sewing
machines used for sewing uniforms by the terrorists.”
Usman also said that soldiers had arrested three suspected
collaborators of the Boko Haram insurgents following the arrest
of Maina.
Usman said that Maina had been making useful statements
which led to the arrest of the three suspected collaborators in
Maiduguri.
He gave the names of those arrested as Jikana Alhaji Goni, 29,
Alhaji Musa Modu, 37, and Alhaji Aba’ana Na Sule, aged 40,
all of Hausari Ward, Maiduguri.
He said that those arrested were being interrogated by the
military.
He said, “Please recall that a Boko Haram financier, fund raiser
and stimulant supplier, Mohammed Maina, was arrested by
troops of 21 Brigade yesterday.”
Meanwhile, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari,
on Tuesday urged security agencies and the Federal
Government to smoke out all identified sponsors of Boko
Haram insurgency in the country.
Noting that terrorists had wrecked havoc in the country, he said
he was hopeful that terrorism would soon come to an end as
soon as the sponsors were identified.
He spoke in an interview with members of the Correspondent
Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara
State capital.
The Emir also advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to
discard the report of the 2014 National Conference.
He urged Buhari to begin the process of implementing the 2014
National Conference report and to restructure the country.
Sulu-Gambari, who was a member of the confab, said Nigeria
needed restructuring to accelerate its growth.
He urged Buhari to pass the report as a bill to the National
Assembly so that it would form part of the nation’s constitution
and law.
He said, “The law is made for the people and people are not
made for the law. The Nigerian people have gathered for a
purpose and the people have spoken through their
representatives. So, the parliament would have to endorse it for
necessary criteria that had been drawn up in the constitution.
“Having done that, it will now be passed as a bill and the people
of Nigeria can now say they have given unto themselves a
constitution. The one given to us by the military was not by the
people of this country.
“The military only gave us that one to guide and rule us. Men
are not supposed to be made for the law, but rather, laws are
supposed to be made for man. Men should be supreme.
“The constitution is the highest norm or law in the land so that
whatever may happen since we are still in the period of
restructuring, probably the document gathered during the confab
should be looked into as part of documents for restructuring. I
believe it should not be thrown into the dustbin.”
The Emir urged journalists to be socially responsible at every
critical moment in their reportage. He added that they should
through their reportage protect the corporate existence of
Nigeria, and avoid any report that could undermine the corporate
existence of the country.
He also said he was excited that the Senate President, Dr.
Bukola Saraki, is from Kwara State. He added that Saraki will
render quality service for national growth and unity.
He said, “We have gone far enough as a country. And we
should see anything that happens as part of happenings of
something in the embryo or still growing because we are still
growing with a lot to learn from our mistakes. We should not
stop existing as a country.
“Your job should be tailored towards securing peace and
harmony in the country, alongside other responsibilities of
educating, informing and entertaining people. Without peace,
you cannot do all these. We pray God to continue to give us
peace and put an end to Boko Haram attacks in the country.”
