Troops Arrest Female Boko Haram Recruiting Officers

The military said yesterday that it has arrested three suspected female terrorists who it said have been covertly recruiting females for the women wing of the Boko Haram. The three suspects, Hafsat Bako, Zainab Idris and Aisha Abubakar, were detained while travelling in Adamawa State.

Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, director of Defence Information, in a statement said the arrest followed a failed suicide bombing attempt on a military facility by a female terrorist in Gombe recently.

“Investigations revealed that the suspects, led by Hafsat, have the mission to recruit members into the female wing of the terrorist group as well as conduct espionage for the group.”

“Hafsat’s link with the terrorists group had been a subject of investigation since 2012 when security agents on a man-hunt for one Usman Bako, her husband, who was identified as a terrorist, stormed their residence in Jimeta,” the spokesman said, adding that the man-hunt resulted in the discovery of an AK- 47 rifle and two loaded magazines.

Colonel Nwachukwu further said Bako died in an encounter with troops in Sokoto, where he had relocated to continue his activities. He said that Hafsat continued with the terror group, specialising in surreptitious recruitment of members into their fold.

“The three female suspects were luring ladies, especially widows and young girls, by enticing them with male suitors who are mainly members of their terror group for marriage. Before their arrest, they were on a mission to take additional briefing from the leadership of the terror group. The trio have been operating together as members of the intelligence team of the group and their arrest has yielded information still being verified by security agencies,” the military said.