The suspects
On a day the police said they had foiled a plot to bomb a church in Owerri, Imo State, hundreds of suspected militants (pictured) were arrested in Abia State, also in south-eastern Nigeria.
They were arrested on Sunday along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway by soldiers attached to the 144 battalion of the Nigerian Army, Asa, Ukwa West LGA, Abia State.
The suspects, aged between 16 and 24, were being conveyed in 33 buses when they were stopped at the road between Aro-Ngwa and Imo Gate along the expressway.
Some of the buses conveying more persons were said to have sped off and escaped arrest.
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Although they are suspected to be Boko Haram militants, there is yet no evidence to establish a link between them and the insurgents who have been unleashing violence on several northern states since 2009.
The suspects reportedly claimed to have come from different parts of the north and were searching for jobs.
Briefing the media on Monday at the headquarters of the 144 Battalion, Asa, where the suspects are being detained, commander of the battalion, Lt. Colonel Rasheed Omolori, said two buses escaped with their occupants.
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He said the incident had been reported to defence headquarters in Abuja. He did not give any other details.
Also at the briefing were the chief press secretary to the governor, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, and the commissioner for information and strategy, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo.
Chikamnayo said the sheer size of the movement made it suspicious, adding that none of the suspects could identify their destination.
He also wondered how such “a long convoy” was not intercepted before it reached Abia State.
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The army and other security agencies in the state were actively investigating the suspects, he said.
18 comments
We must be careful about the kind of news we let out. No official report , yet you call them Boko Harram without pictures of any arms nor ammunition. We must save this country by living responsibly anywhere we operate from. After all it’s. Still US that gets hurt at the end of the day
nice one
Despicable profiling.
This is a clear indication that the sponsors of Boko Haram are bent on their Islamic agenda for Nigeria. It is time for Christians to wake up and be on their guard. This is clearly a determined war against Christians. We must wake up
The movement in its sheer size is suspicious whether they are Boko- Haram or not, arms or no arms, especially as they claimed to have no clear destination. Then where would they have been taken to and what was their mission because it couldn’t have been just job hunt for such a massive movement. They should be thoroughly investigated. Alertness should be the watch word for all genuine Nigerians. Ikem
The question is what are they going to do there? how come they are traveling in such a group? we all know that Northerners that travel to the south or east for legitimate reasons do so in the luxurious buses that people from those parts run and use, but why these people decided to organize their own convoy is questionable. traveling to the south or east by a northerner even for business involves a lot of risk, talk less of in such a large convoy. They should be detained and questioned properly.
I agree. Is there any information that there is job in the east? if they were job hunter why will 2 of the buses run? questions that need answers and the answer with what happened in Owerri (the bomb in Winner Ch..) I call them BOKO HARAM.
This 144 battalion of the Nigerian Army
should now go to the northeast of Nigeria to confirm his effectiveness.
The level of intolerance in the country ocassioned by the hate initiated by the Northern politicians is yeilding result wher a Nigerian is not free to move in Nigerian. while I it would be indefensible to have a convoy of unemployed, it is still worisome that Nigerians are now suspecting one another due to the excalated hate syndrome in the North.
If the Northern elite do not cahnge their atitude to quest for governance, they would have no one to rule at the end of it all.
Please make a thorough investigation and stop calling them Boko Haram until you have thoroughly confirmed.
To be realistick these people are boko haram member, they are just looking for a place to settledown and to start killing people. Therefore, Nigeria need people like biafra, bakasi, odua, agbekoya, opc and naija delta group to face boko haram if FG can not face them.
We must stop profiling people without verifiable evidence. When did it become a crime for bonafide Nigerians to move freely in their country? This is not a defence for those arrested but labelling them Boko Haram without proper investigation is unjust, unfair and against natural justice.
This is a dangerous move! The South-East Governors and the romantically girlfriend they have in the Federal Government and its pliable agencies should better pause, ponder and desist from mischief-making or playing with fire! They can concoct and come up with report of the arrest of a Boko Haram “kingpin” or whatever all in an effort to mendaciously justify the arrest of innocent Hausa petty traders; but they should never allow history to repeat itself! Those people arrested may not have This Day, The Punch, The Guardian, The Nation, The Sun etc to champion their cause or stand up in their defense but they UNDOUBTEDLY have the minds and support of hundreds of thousands of their brothers and sisters back home! And, the “birds” that are weathering the storm of this “torrential rainfall”, the Eastern States and their cohorts, should have themselves to blame when they end up beaten by the same “torrential rainfall”: For better or worse, life ultimately boils down to certain cardinal, unwritten rules of engagements embodied in the principle of “tit for tat” or “you scratch my back and I scratch yours”! Those who live in glasshouse would do themselves well by avoiding any stone-throwing games: The Igbos are one of the most ubiquitously itinerant human beings on the surface of the Earth! This game is not theirs to play! But if they think that because they have a powerful girlfriend up there and they can now do as they fancy, then the field is clear for the horse and its rider to indulge themselves. All we have to wish them is: Good luck!!!!!!!!
for me as bokoharam is preparing to invade the east, so me and my family are preparing to move to cameroon, togo, ghana, or any negb country, cos i no fit shout for this country wen no get leader.
God is watching ooh. Why should such a convoy travel that far without any interception by any of the security agencies still it got to Abia, why why, God is watching.
let us call a saped a saped they are boko haram
Let’s stop biting around the bush fellow Nigerians. This people are boko haram.. If they actually come for business; why are they in group of 486? And why did other buses escape? And why is it that there is no Old men among them? This young men are trained to come and destroy the east. They have a mission to accomplish. you don’t need to see them with arms. The arms will be smuggled to them when they start their evil. We must be watchful.
If they are not Boko Haram; Why are they in a group of 486? Why did Other buses escaped? Why is it that there is no old men among them? The evidence is clear..