Five suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have been arrested by the Joint Security Forces in Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria.

A top security source who confirmed the arrest on Thursday in Kaduna said the arrest was carried out by the Department of State Services (DSS) in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force in an operation launched to thwart a planned attack on a Police Station at Kwanan Dangora in Kaduna State.

“During the early hours of Wednesday, 19th February, 2014, while assigned members of the Boko Haram sect were on their way to actualise the planned attacks, they were arrested by the joint security forces,” the source who pleaded anonymity said.

The arrested suspects are 28-year-old king pin, Bashir Ali; Abdullahi Adam, 21; Adamu Abdullahi, 29; Abubakar Abdullahi, 32; and Mohammed Umar, 32.

“Some of the weapons we recovered from the suspects include seven primed Improvised Explosives Devices, one General Purpose Machine Gun, three AK 47 Riffles, five fully charged magazines, 66 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunitions and a Jerry Can of petrol among other things,” the source disclosed.

Bashir Ali, the leader of the foiled attack, who spoke, briefly said he was recruited into the deadly group by one Lawal presently at large.

His words: “Lawal gave us a car and N17,000 at Karfi near Kano to attack the Kwanan Dangora Police Station on Tuesday and deposit all the weapons that would have been stolen from the police station to a hideout in Kunkumi, Kaduna State.

“I was recruited into the group 14 months ago by somebody I met in a commercial vehicle in Bauchi. But, I must emphasise here that our operation since after the death of Mohammed Yusuf has nothing to do with Islam.

“We are on a revenge operation for our members that were killed by soldiers in Bauchi five years ago.

“Boko Haram is split into two. There are the groups that kill people randomly and those that are on a revenge mission of specific targets. All these activities have nothing to do with Islam and I must say that I regret my membership in the group.”

•Photo by Garba Ahmad shows the five suspected members of the Boko Haram who were arrested in Kaduna today.

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