An orange seller who acts as a spy for Boko Haram has been arrested in Kawo area of Kaduna by soldiers, with N600 million found in his account following investigation.
Speaking at the weekend, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-General Garba Wahab, disclosed this as an offensive against insurgents in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States reach top gear.
“When we stop those who are hawking and carrying wheelbarrow, and we said we want to check, people will shout, ‘why are you disturbing the average person?’ And I give you example; we arrested somebody called mai lemu (orange seller) in Kawo here. And in three months when we checked through his account, over N600 million has passed through that man’s account, and he sells orange here by Kawo bridge.
“He is there as a lookout. He is like a spy. He looks around, gets information and feeds these guys, says this is what is happening. That is why I said we are not dealing with idiots. We are dealing with people who have one or two guys working and thinking , and giving them information. And we know that before they attack they must look at the softest locations,” the GOC said.
In his reaction to Thursday’s attacks in Daura, he said military personnel adhered to the principles of rules of engagement, saying, “I called this press conference to fill the gap on the attack that occurred in Daura, Katsina State. We don’t want a situation where people will be speculating. Yes the criminals came, they bombed vehicles, and they packed money using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to bomb everywhere. Nobody will give an instruction for an innocent life to be lost, so in whatever we do, we keep the rules of engagement given to us and that is go out, it’s like it is encouraging the criminals and they start to think they have upper hand.”
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said Sunday that the Presidency has offered amnesty to any Boko Haram member who surrenders.
Abati disclosed this to Reuters, a foreign news agency on telephone.
According to him, “Mr President has urged Boko Haram members to surrender their arms and embrace the amnesty option which is still open as the committee is working on the option of dialogue for a peaceful resolution.”