A British-born alleged ringleader of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram is in custody after he was arrested in Sudan, it was claimed today.
Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche is suspected of being the co-mastermind of a two bomb attacks in the past month in a suburb of Abuja, the Nigerian capital, which more killed than 90 people.
Five Boko Haram militants had been arrested as suspects in the car bombings in Nyanya on April 14 and May 1, security officials said.
Information they provided pointed to Ogwuche and another man, Rufai Abubakar Tsiga, as masterminds.
Ogwuche served in the intelligence unit of the Nigerian army but deserted in 2006, said a spokesman for Nigeria's Ministry of Information.
He was arrested at Abuja airport in 2011 on arrival from Britain on suspected terrorism-related activities but was released to the care of his father, a retired army colonel, following protests from rights group, officials said.
The arrest comes as Nigeria's government said it is willing to talk with Boko Haram militants a month after the Islamist group seized 300 schoolgirls in a kidnapping which has outraged the world.
Nigeria's minister of special duties, Tanimu Turaki, today told Reuters 'the window of negotiation is still open.'
He was speaking a day after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau posted a video offering to release the girls in exchange for prisoners held by the government.
However, senior officials say the government is exploring options and has made no commitment to negotiations for the release of the girls, and Mr Turaki declined to comment on possible talks over the kidnapping itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment