The Borno State Police Command said it has arrested a man suspected to be supplying chemicals to the Islamist sect popularly known as the Boko Haram.
The state’s commissioner of Police, Mr Simeon Midenda, made the announcement at a news conference yesterday in Maiduguri.
He explained that the arrest was sequel to an investigation into the foiled attempt by a suicide bomber to bomb the Police Headquarters in Maiduguri on August 15, 2011.
“ On August 15, a lone suicide bomber attempted to destroy this Police Headquarters and kill many Borno State indigenes who were being enlisted into the force.
“But after the homemade bomb had been successfully defused and evacuated from the car, detectives combed the vehicle for clues,’’ he said.
Midenda said that after several days of investigations, detectives traced the source of the explosive materials to a store on Bama Road, Maiduguri.
“The supplier was arrested and his shop immediately sealed up after evacuating the remaining chemicals,’’ he said.
Midenda said that detailed investigations had linked the store to various bomb attacks in the northern states.
“Investigations so far revealed that 13 bottles of aluminum powder, one packet of face masks and a packet of hand gloves were bought from the shop on August 8, by individuals sponsoring the bombings.
“Documents recovered from the shop revealed that other purchases made in the shop were in tandem with periods of bomb blast in some northern states,’’ he said.
“Investigations further revealed that the suspect now in custody has been the major source of supply of these chemicals to the group of insurgents, who have been attacking locations in the North,’’ he said.
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