Soldiers arrest four Boko Haram spies in Bauchi

The soldiers of the 33 Artillery Brigade of the
Nigerian Army, Bauchi, have arrested four persons
for carrying out surveillance activities of the Boko
Haram insurgents.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col.
Sani Usman, said in a statement on Wednesday
one the detained terrorists spies, Victor Moses,
carried out a surveillance mission for the Boko
Haram before the attack on the Catholic Church at
Madallah, Niger State on December 25, 2011.
According Usman, the spies included Victor Moses,
Abubakar Shettima, Salisu Mohammed and Umar
Sadiq Madaki.
He said that the troops arrested the Boko Haram
spies when Victor Modes went to a mosque
ostensibly to get converted to Islam in Bauchi.
He said that the worshippers who doubted the
sincerity of Moses alerted the security operatives
who arrested him and commenced a process of
investigation into the matter.
Moses was said to have confessed to the military
interrogators that he was working for an Islamic
Cleric in Gombe who was at large.
He was also said to have mentioned one Abubakar
Shettima, who is based in Jos, as the link between
him and the cleric.
Usman said that Moses also confessed that he
carried out surveillance activities for the Boko
Haram on places targeted for attack including the
Madalla church Christmas day attack.
“The headquarters of 33 Artillery Brigade,
Nigerian Army, Bauchi, has arrested four persons
suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists spies that
include the one that carried out surveillance on the
Madalla church before it was bombed.
“The men Victor Moses, Abubakar Shettima,
Salisu Mohammed Bello and Umar Sadiq Madaki
have been carrying out surveillance mission for the
Boko Haram terrorists on target for suicide
bombings or attacks.
“Luck ran out for them when Victor Moses went
to a mosque in Bauchi and pretended that he
wanted to be converted to Islam and the people
suspecting that he was not genuine, promptly
reported the matter.
“On interrogation he confirmed that he was
working for an Islamic cleric in Gombe (now at
large) and that their point of contact was
Abubakar Shetima based in Jos. He confessed to
casing targets for suicide bomb attacks including
that of the Catholic Church Madalla, Suleja, Niger
State on Christmas day, 25th December 2011.”
The statement read in part.
Usman said that the four Boko Haram spies,
undergoing interrogation at the headquarters of the
33 Artillery Brigade, Bauchi, were paraded by the
Brigade’s Commander, Brig. Gen. Abraham Dusu,
on Monday.