The troops of Operation HADIN KAI have arrested a Yobe-based politician, Alhaji Wakiil Goni Mama, popularly known as Mai Salati, over allegations of terrorism logistics support and collaboration with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) elements operating in the North-East.
According to security analyst, Zagazola Makama, military sources said that the suspect was arrested after troops uncovered an alleged attempt by him to bribe military personnel to secure the release of suspects arrested with suspected terrorist logistics in Kanamma, Yobe State.
According to the sources, the arrest followed sustained intelligence-led efforts involving the Commander of Sector 2 and the 27 Task Force Brigade to track and apprehend the politician, who had allegedly been operating as a high-profile logistics supplier and collaborator for terrorist elements.
Sources said the suspects arrested earlier in Kanamma were being processed for further investigation when Mai Salati allegedly attempted to intervene and secure their release through the payment of money to soldiers.
Rather than accepting the inducement, the troops reportedly arrested him and commenced the necessary procedures for his transfer to Maiduguri for further investigation and legal action.
The politician and the other suspects were subsequently moved from Damaturu towards Maiduguri, where security authorities are expected to subject them to detailed interrogation and investigation to establish the extent of their alleged links with terrorist networks.
The development has also triggered a strong rebuttal of claims circulating on social media that Mai Salati’s arrest was politically motivated and connected to his alleged defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“Zagazola Makama can authoritatively report that the military operation, according to security sources, has nothing to do with any politics, but by allegations bordering on terrorism logistics and an attempt to interfere with the detention of persons suspected of supplying logistics to ISWAP,” the security analyst said.
The sources said that the alleged attempt to bribe troops to release suspected terrorist logistics suppliers represents a particularly serious development if established by investigation.
“Counter-terrorism operations depend heavily on the ability of security forces to disrupt the financial, transportation, communication, food, fuel, weapons and other supply chains that keep terrorist organisations operational. Those who allegedly provide such support are therefore not peripheral to terrorism,” said the military sources.