Vigilantes and youths have arrested no fewer than eight suspected members of a Boko Haram splinter group, Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) in New Bussa, Niger State.

It was gathered that the ISWAP members were arrested during a search and interrogation of strange people in Wawa district of New Bussa before they were handed over to security authorities in Niger State.

A source, who participated in the search, in an audio sent to PRNigeria, disclosed that the suspects confessed on their mission in the community.

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“We thank God for the efforts of the military in our area. As part of our security consciousness, after recent attempt on a military base in Wawa, we searched for strangers in our community and we were able to arrest eight of them with criminal intent and recovered AK-47 guns, 10 Magazines, and 160 bullets, among other lethal ammunitions.

“Surprisingly, some of the suspects even prayed the early-morning Muslim prayer with us in a Mosque. Nobody would have thought that they are criminals, as they looked very religious and pious and they are not even Fulanis,” the source said.

The arrest came after the troops of the Nigerian Army and Nigeria Air Force (NAF) repelled the ISWAP terrorists from gaining access to military barracks in New Bussa on October 29, 2022.

During the counter-attack, the military killed scores of terrorists and arrested one of their commanders after a failed attempt to free their leaders held in a security facility located in the axis.

The Star