A top leader of the Boko Haram group, Abdulmalik Umar, has been arrested in Ogun State by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari.
According to available information, the Boko Haram leader, responsible for the death of over 200 persons, was arrested in Mowe area of Ogun State, where he was hiding in a nurse’s house after sustaining gunshot wounds in Abuja.
Umar, who was arrested at about 2pm on Thursday, reportedly spearheaded the Kuje and Nyanya bombings in Abuja in 2015.
There are reports that he had been involved in several bank robberies in Edo and Ondo States and several killings in Okene area of Kogi State.
A member of the IRT on his Instagram page wrote on Thursday: “He was the grand commander of the jailbreak of the prison in Niger State early this year, during which he lost one of his eyes, while over 100 prisoners escaped.
“The most wanted suspect was arrested by a special IRT team in Lagos today (Thursday) after he escaped with bullet wounds from Abuja three weeks ago when the IRT team arrested four of his gang members and recovered four AK-47 rifles and hundreds of ammunition. Today is one of the happiest moments of my life.”
The Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, confirmed Umar’s arrest.
Moshood said Umar and other members of his group arrested during the shootout with policemen in Abuja, which resulted in his being injured, will soon be paraded.