No B’Haram member arrested in Enugu, say Police

The Enugu State Police Command on Monday said it was not aware of the arrest of any Boko Haram member in the state.

Responding to enquiries by The Punch, the command also said it had no knowledge of the presence of Boko Haram terrorists in Enugu State, as announced by the Department of State Services.

The DSS had, in a statement released on Sunday, said it had arrested 20 suspected Boko Haram commanders in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Plateau and Gombe states.

According to the security agency, the suspects, who it said were arrested between July 8 and August 25, 2015, include the masterminds of the suicide attacks in Potiskum, Kano, Zaria and Jos.

It added in the statement signed by an official, Tony Opuiyo, that those arrested were notable commanders and frontline members of the notorious group from different parts of the country.

However, the police in Enugu State, one of the states where the DSS said Boko Haram had moved to, said information available to it did not disclose the presence of the terrorist sect in the state.

Spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, told our correspondent that the command was not aware of any investigation or arrest, concerning Boko Haram in Enugu State.

“There is no case of Boko Haram investigated by the command, neither was there any arrest by the command,” Amaraizu said.

Amaraizu stated this in an SMS, after The Punch asked if the command had put any special measure in place to ensure the safety of residents and visitors in Enugu, against the backdrop of the DSS disclosure that th Boko Haram sect had moved into the state.

But Amaraizu added that police command would continue to keep the state safe.

“Meanwhile, the command is relying on the already established proactive measures which have so far kept the state and its environs safe,” he added.

The police spokesman noted that the DSS did not provide details of the presence and arrest of Boko Haram commanders in Enugu, unlike the case in Lagos and other areas reported in the statement.

DSS had, in the statement, identified a number of Boko Haram suspects it arrested in Lagos, but it did not provide similar details in the case of Enugu State.

(The Punch)