Nigeria: Police arrest senior Boko Haram member

Police in Nigeria on Tuesday said they had arrested a senior Boko Haram Islamist commander known as “Chief Butcher” during a raid on an insurgent camp in the restive northeast.

Mohammed Zakari, 30, was arrested on Saturday “following the massive onslaught by security forces on the activities of the insurgent group”, at Balmo Forest in Bauchi state, a statement said.

Zakari was implicated in “the recent slaughter of 7 people, including women and children,” it added.

According to police, Balmo Forest is one of several bases scattered across the northeast used by the extremist Islamist group blamed for killing more than 10,000 people during a five-year insurgency.

Zakari was not widely known as a prominent Islamist leader, but the group’s command structure is seen as fractured, including autonomous cells operating across the north headed by individuals who may not report to the group’s recognized leaders.

The al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in the north, is nominally headed by Abubakar Shekau, has been declared a global terrorist group also sanctioned by the UN Security Council.

Copyright 2014 AFP