Boko Haram ‘Bomb Maker’ Allegedly Arrested In Yobe

A man suspected to be behind the
manufacture of explosives used in a
series of Boko Haram suicide attacks
has been arrested in North-East
Nigeria, a senior police officer told
AFP on Tuesday.
The man, identified only as Ba’na,
was held in the Arikime area of
Potiskum after several weeks of
surveillance, said the officer, who
was involved in the Sunday arrest.
Potiskum, the commercial capital of
Yobe State, has been hit by a wave
of bombings in recent months,
including a suicide attack on a
secondary school in November 10 in
which 58 people were killed.
On January 18, at least four people
died in an attack on a bus station,
while the previous weekend, two
women wearing suicide vests killed
six people at a market and two died
in a car bombing outside a police
station.
The police officer, who asked not to
be identified because he is not
authorised to speak to the media,
said Ba’na was in his mid-thirties
and had admitted making the
bombs.
“He confessed to being responsible
for the manufacturing of the
explosives used in at least three
suicide attacks and the car
explosion outside the divisional
police station,” he added.
Nine alleged accomplices were also
arrested in a hideout in the town
hours after Ba’na’s arrest.
Ba’na allegedly made the explosives
used in the November school
attack, the January 10 car bombing
and January 11 market blasts, the
source said.
He was said to have moved to
Potiskum from the state capital,
Damaturu, three years ago and
worked as a stonemason and water
vendor before getting married.
“ He was quite good at his disguise
and his mason and water vending
jobs gave him perfect cover,” the
officer said.
Source: Tribune