Nigerian Military Detains 460 Suspected Boko Haram Members

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Tuesday, June 17th, 2014

The Nigerian Military has announced on Tuesday that it had detained more than 460 people suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram.

Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Olajide Laleye, according to AFP said 462 people, including eight women, were held in southern Abia state on Monday as they rode in 36 buses from northern states such as Bauchi and Jigawa to Port Harcourt. “It is after investigation that their status will be known,” he added in a text message to AFP.

Media reports have quoted southern politicians as linking the arrests to Boko Haram, which menace has lingered five years ago in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria, resulting to thousand of killings and recently harassment, torture and abduction.

A huge number of northerners have previously been held in the south on suspicion of belonging to Boko Haram, raising concerns among Muslim leaders of religious “profiling”.

In January, about 300 traders from the north were held in southern Rivers state, but later, most of the suspects were released. Also, almost 84 apprentices were returned to Katsina state during a training course in Imo, south Eastern Nigeria.

In 2012, the police in Enugu state arrested 25 hunters from northwestern Zamfara state on an annual hunting expedition to the forests, holding them for a month on suspicion of having link to the insurgent group.