Lagos Govt. Calls for calm as DSS arrests 45 Boko Haram Suspects!

The Lagos State Government through its Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, has urged citizens in the state to remain calm and very security conscious as the Police and other security agencies have intensified efforts to rid the state of hoodlums, armed robbers and suspected terrorists.

Speaking of the background of the arrest by the Department of State Services of 45 suspected Boko Haram members who allegedly planned to attack Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi, the State government expressed confidence in the combined efforts of DSS, Police and other security agencies to keep the state free of terror attacks and stamp out robberies and violent crimes.

In a statement signed by the the state government vowed not to relent in its constitutional duty to ensure safety of lives and property throughout the length and breadth of the state.

Ayorinde said the current reality is that times have changed and the need to urge every citizen to be more security conscious is now paramount.

Due to the economic hardship being experienced all over the country with many states and private business owners battling with payments of salaries and wages, Lagos State has become the prime destination for several thousands of people who now throng the daily with no plan to return, because they believe this is the state where economic succor is available.

Meanwhile, the DSS has charged the 45 suspects arrested at Dolphin Estate to a Lagos State Magistrate’s Court sitting in Isolo on Friday and the court ordered they be remanded  at the Kirikiri prisons in the state.

The DSS said the suspects were arrested following intelligence report on their alleged plan to attack the estate, which is in a high brow area in the state. The security operatives told the court that the suspects had volunteered confessional statements, adding that arms were recovered from them.

The DSS urged the court to remand the suspects in prison pending further investigations. The magistrate, who asked that his name should not be disclosed for security reasons, granted the prayers that the suspects be remanded in prison.

According to the charge filed before the court, the names of the suspects include Abuyi Sheriff, Babagana Ali, Abass Ibrahim, Abubaka Grema, Kabiri Ibrahim, Mustaph Mohammed, Usman Mohammed, Modu Amsami, Isa Agafi, Adamu Jebili and Saja Kamba.

Also among them were: Abba Sagoma, Mallam Buchu, Abdul-Kareem Abba, Babagana Koloye, Usman Buka, Adamu Mohammed, Lawal Mohammed, Tela Abana, Mustapha Mohammed, Isa Agafi, Belo Modu, Kachala Babagana, Modu Abu and Alhaji Modu Mustapha.

An affidavit presented in court disclosed how a team of the DSS cordoned off the area, intercepted the suspects and carried out the arrests.

Also, a Joint Task Force team comprising the personnel of the police, Department of State Services, the military and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has been combing the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and other towns for Boko Haram suspects and their sponsors.

As part of the operation to apprehend fleeing terror suspects, the Task Force last Wednesday, raided a black spot at Nyanya, a satellite town in the FCT, where it arrested about 30 suspects.

Nyanya and Kuje, FCT recorded twin bomb blasts on October 2, 2015, in which about 20 people lost their lives and many others were injured.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, said that the IG had set up a special intelligence team tasked with getting intelligence and information on terror plots in the country.

It was learnt that the intelligence team successfully arrested the masterminds of the Nyanya and Kuje bombings, five of whom were picked up at different parts of the FCT in Iddo village and Karamajiji, along Airport Road, and Gaulaka area in Suleja, Niger State.

The suspects—Abdulazeez Muhazab, Ishaka Salihu, Mohammed Jimoh, Abdulwaheed Nasiru and Abdullahi Nasiru were arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja last Thursday on five-count charges bordering on terrorism, conspiracy, accessory to acts of terrorism and act preparatory to an act of terrorism.