The Army said yesterday that several Boko Haram members fleeing the battlefield in Borno State have been arrested in Lagos. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Major General Isidore Edet, also revealed that over 15 pipeline vandals have been arrested in the Ikorodu and Arepo areas of Lagos. The GOC spoke to newsmen shortly after decorating 12 newly promoted officers attached to the division.
General Edet said the arrested Boko Haram members were among those fleeing the battlefield in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States and were fleeing down South to continue their nefarious activities. He said the Nigerian Army would not relent in ensuring the safety of lives and property within Lagos and Ogun State areas, adding that the arrested pipeline vandals included young ladies.
He said presently, investigations had commenced into the activities of each Boko Haram member and that they were under going interrogation to fish out other members of the group. On October 24, the Department of State Service (DSS) said it arrested and charged 45 suspected members of Boko Haram to a Magistrate Court over an alleged plot to attack Lagos.
The DSS said the insurgents planned to attack Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi in September. Although 60 people were arrested, 15 were later released after preliminary investigations. Early October, three-suicide bombers attacked two satellite towns in Abuja, the federal capital city and killed scores. A similar security warning was issued for Enugu State in October.