Top Boko Haram commander captured

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The military Joint Task Force (JTF) in Nigeria's northern city of Maiduguri Friday announced it had captured a top Boko Haram commander, whom it identified as Shuaibu Mohammed Bama.

The JTF said in a statement by its spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, that Bama had been on the list of terrorists operating between Maiduguri and Bama, both in Borno state.

It said Bama was arrested by the troops of the JTF in a serving Senator's house along Damboa road in Maiduguri.

''He is in the custody of the JTF and assisting in the investigation and has since made startling revelations,'' the statement said.

It was the latest in a series of successes scored by the JTF against the violent Islamic sect, which has killed over 1,500 in gun and bomb attacks since 2009.

The task force has recently announced the arrest or killing of several Boko Haram leaders, in an indication that it could be winning the war against the sect.
-0- PANA SEG 19Oct2012