Nigeria’s Borno State Police Command has publicly challenged claims that the Nigerian Army arrested a suspected suicide bomber in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, insisting that the suspect was apprehended by police operatives and that no active improvised explosive device was recovered during the operation.
Okay News reports that the clarification followed widespread circulation of reports and images suggesting that soldiers attached to Operation Hadin Kai, Nigeria’s ongoing military counterinsurgency mission in the North-East region, had arrested a suspected suicide bomber identified as Abubakar Mustapha.
The earlier claim was attributed to Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North East, Operation Hadin Kai, a joint military formation coordinating counterterrorism operations against extremist groups in northeastern Nigeria. In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said troops of the One Hundred and Fifty-Two Task Force Battalion, working alongside other security agencies, arrested the suspect on Monday in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.
According to the military statement, the arrest took place at about 5:40 pm on Monday, December Twenty-Ninth, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five, near the Banki Central Mosque in Banki town, a border community close to Cameroon that has been repeatedly targeted by insurgent attacks.
“The Joint Task Force North East, Operation Hadin Kai, has recorded a significant operational success with the arrest of a suspected suicide bomber and the interception of materials intended for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices in Borno State,” the statement read in part.
Lieutenant Colonel Uba added that the operation followed sustained intelligence-led efforts to secure Banki town and its surrounding communities. He further claimed that the suspect was found with materials believed to be components of a primed improvised explosive device, suggesting an imminent attack.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect hails from Bama Local Government Area and was further discovered to be in possession of additional incriminating materials linked to terrorist activities. He is currently undergoing detailed interrogation to establish his sponsors, collaborators and possible links with terrorist networks operating within the area,” he said.
However, the Borno State Police Command swiftly countered the military account. Speaking in a telephone interview on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Assistant Superintendent of Police Nahum Daso, said the arrest was solely a police operation and that the suspect remains in police custody.
“The same suspect shown in the pictures released by the Army is with us. I personally interviewed him last night. The items recovered from him are not improvised explosive devices. It was a police operation,” Daso stated.
In a separate statement issued in the early hours of Wednesday, the police command warned against the spread of misinformation capable of causing public panic. The statement clarified that police operatives accosted the suspect at about 6:10 pm on Monday, December Twenty-Ninth, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five, while conducting surveillance around a mosque in Banki, Bama Local Government Area.
“To set the record straight, operatives of the command accosted one Abubakar in possession of a bag containing electrical wires, old mobile phone batteries, assorted gadget scrap materials and pairs of shoes,” the statement said.
According to the police, preliminary investigations showed that the items recovered did not indicate any active improvised explosive device fabrication or priming. The command added that the case has been transferred to the Borno State Police Command Headquarters for comprehensive investigation.
“The suspect is currently in custody, while investigations are ongoing to ascertain the circumstances and intent surrounding possession of the items,” Daso added.
He urged residents and social media users to rely on verified and official sources of information, particularly in matters relating to security, to avoid unnecessary fear and misinformation.
