Chibok Girls: Military arrests Nigerian Businessman for alleged involvement

Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman suspected of being at the head of a Boko Haram intelligence network that helped plan the abduction of more than 200 school girls in the northeast, the military said on Tuesday. This is the first time anyone has been arrested in connection with the kidnappings.

The man had helped the Islamist militant group plan several

attacks, including the killing of traditional ruler the Emir of Gwoza, in Borno state, military spokesman Chris Olukolade said in an e-mail statement Monday.

The abduction in mid-April of 276 school girls, 219 of which remain in captivity, has become a symbol of the government’s powerlessness to protect civilians from attack by the group.

The businessman is said to be a tricycle seller and is a member of a youth vigilante group.

The authorities also arrested an unspecified number of suspected female Boko Haram members, one of whom was involved in the group’s payroll operations, said Olukolade. “She disclosed that a minimum of 10,000 naira ($61) is paid to each operative depending on the enormity of his task,” he said.

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, in video messages threathened to sell the schoolgirls in “markets,” marry them off and hold them until the Nigerian government free imprisoned members of his sect. The U.S. and U.K. sent teams to Nigeria to help the government find the schoolgirls, and Israel and France have pledged assistance.

Last weekend, soldiers in Goniri in northeastern Yobe state fought militants with unspecified casualties on both sides, Olukolade said.

BusinessDay