Arrest of 486 Northerners in Abia: Northen traders leader alleges suspects not Boko Haram

The 486 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect arrested by the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Asa, near Aba, Abia State at the weekend are patriotic Nigerians engaged in their various businesses to eke out a living, the leader of Northern Nigerian Traders in Mile 3 Area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, […]

The 486 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect arrested by the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Asa, near Aba, Abia State at the weekend are patriotic Nigerians engaged in their various businesses to eke out a living, the leader of Northern Nigerian Traders in Mile 3 Area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Alhaji Bala Matu has said.

Speaking in an interview on telephone, Alhaji Matu  alleged that the soldiers just arrested patriotic and  innocent people and leveled false allegations against them as Boko Haram members.

“They are traders. I am their chairman; they are under me and they are doing their own businesses. They are people that are selling ear rings, brocades, sugar cane, carrots and many other types of items. Even shoe makers and wheelbarrow pushers are among them. They are not Boko Haram members,” Matu said. He added: “They are not Boko Haram; they are genuine traders. They are patriotic Nigerians.”

Matu alleged that upon being arrested by the soldiers, the handsets of the suspects were collected and switched off to prevent people from accessing them through phones.

He also alleged that even some people, such as one Alhaji Buba, leader of the Fulani community who is also one of the leaders of the northern residents in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that went there to ascertain what led to the arrest of the suspects, were equally detained as soon as they got there.

Matu also complained that the suspects are not in good condition being detained by the soldiers. “People who are under military detention, how will they be under good condition?” he retorted when asked about their condition.

Several calls put to one of the telephone lines of the Abia State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr.Eze Chimkamnayo for comments were not answered. The second telephone line was completely off. The Army Public Relations Officer at the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, Col. H.E.Gambo’s telephone line was switched off when attempts were made by our reporter to reach him for reaction.

But the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Theodore Orji, Mr. Charles Ajunwa told our reporter on phone that the suspects were still undergoing interrogation by the soldiers, and also being fed.

“They are being fed. If you see them, they are being fed. No torture of any kind. Nobody is torturing any of them.  They are okay,” Ajunwa said during a brief telephone chat with our reporter in Enugu. cade of 35 Toyota Hiace buses when they were intercepted.
It was learnt that the suspects were travelling in a convoy  of 35 Toyota Hiace buses when they were intercepted around 2am between Arungwa Junction on the Enugu-PortHarcourt Highway and Imo Gate, the Abia/Rivers boundary.

Chimkanayo, who had earlier paraded the suspects before journalists in the state, said the suspects were stopped and moved to Asa. He added that investigation showed that the suspects, aged 16 years and above, were travelling from Kano, Taraba and Jigawa states.