Troops of 7 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army have arrested a Boko Haram kingpin identified as John Trankil at Kasuwar Shanu in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect said that nine of them were sneaked into Maiduguri armed with AK-47 assault rifle each and a Hilux vehicle laden with 20 Improvised Explosive Devices meant to be detonated at some selected targets in the city.
The Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Yusha'u Mahmood Abubakar, commended the efforts of the troops and renewed call for the troops and the public to be more vigilant and security conscious particularly at all check points, markets, worship centres, motor parks and schools.
In a related development, troops of 21 Brigade Nigerian Army, while on offensive operations on Boko Haram terrorists location, with the support from the Nigerian Airforce, discovered and destroyed the terrorists' Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and rocket making factory along Bama-Gonin Kurmi within the outskirts of Bama town, Borno State.
The items recovered included gas cylinders, welding machine, pipes and poles. Others included locally made rocket shells, large quantities of assorted chemicals, unprimed IEDs and various technical and laboratory equipment suspected to be stolen from schools' laboratories around Bama before they were dislodged from the area.
