The security operatives on Friday April 1st made a major breakthrough in the intensified campaign against the Boko Haram insurgency by arresting the leader of the Ansaru Islamic Sect, Khalid Albarnawi.
The Acting Director Defence information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed the arrest of the top wanted terror suspect to one of our correspondents on the telephone on Saturday.
Abubakar said that Albanarwi was second in command to Abubakar Shekau in the hierarchy of the dreaded Boko Haram Sect.
He attributed the arrest of Albarnawi to effective collaborative efforts among the various security agencies in the country.
The Acting Defence Spokesman said that with the arrest of the top leader of Ansaru, regarded as Shekau’s second in command, the days of the Boko Haram Sect were numbered.
According to him, the arrested terror suspect was cooperating with security operatives in the area of volunteering information.
However, Abubakar was not specific about which of the security agencies were in custody of the top terror suspect.
He said, “I can confirm that he (Albarnawi) is in custody. It is a product of the existing synergy among the security agencies which led to this breakthrough in the war on terror.
“Nigerians should assist the security agencies with relevant information and intelligence, I can say that the days of Boko Haram are numbered.
“We have just confirmed that he has been nabbed and he is with the relevant agencies and as time goes, people would know how this kind of person was nabbed and it is due to the synergy existing among the security agencies.
“He has been arrested and he is with the relevant agencies and he is cooperating with giving information.
“He is the second-in-command as far as the Boko Haram hierarchy is concerned. So their days are numbered by the grace of God.”
An online portal, the Cable, had quoted Ahmad Salkida, a journalist, known for his access to some of the leaders of the Boko Haram has having said that Albarnawi was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services in Lokoja and moved to Abuja on Friday.