Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency has warned travellers to be ready for an attack on the capital’s airport after announcing it had smashed a spy network run by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

The Department of State Services (DSS) said in a statement late Friday that it had arrested a 14-year-old at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja who admitted he had been ordered to spy on security procedures.

He was to pass on “information in respect of travelers’ movement including passenger screening, boarding procedures and other processes in the departure and arrival halls,” DSS spokesman Tony Opuiyo said in the statement.

“The service is working closely with major aviation stakeholders, especially the Aviation Security Department, to forestall any possible attack and to ensure adequate security at the airports,” he added.

Agents were still hunting the militant who directed the boy, following Monday’s arrest, he said.

Boko Haram has waged a six-year violent campaign for an Islamic homeland during which at least 15,000 people have died and a further 1.5 million have been displaced.

•Text extracted from an AFP report. Photo shows Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.