Twenty suspected members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, were arrested in Enugu on Wednesday after a commercial bus conveying them was intercepted by security operatives, at Obollo Afor in the Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The bus, with registration number AKD816XG, was stopped while conveying the alleged insurgents from Aba in Abia State to the northern part of the country.
PUNCH reports that the bus was intercepted by policemen in a team of the National Task Force on Small Arms, Ammunitions and Light Weapons.
The commercial bus, which was said to belong to a popular private commercial company, was impounded by security operatives pending further investigation.
The security operatives recovered arms, as well as bags containing army uniforms and other items, from the suspects.
Enugu State police commissioner, Mohammed Abubakar, confirmed the arrest. Abubakar said that he had ordered the task force team to transfer the suspects from Obolo Affor to the police headquarters in Enugu.
The suspects had already been locked up at the state police headquarters in Enugu as of the time of this report.
Meanwhile, the police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebere Maraizu, who confirmed the detention of the suspects, said there was the possibility that the suspects were not members of Boko Haram.
The police spokesman said the suspects were traders, although he noted that military camouflage uniforms were recovered from some of them.
He explained that the suspects were being interrogated to enable the police ascertain where they were heading to and how the military camouflage uniforms came into their possession.
