Bello pledges to crush terror cell in Kogi

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has pledged to crush the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist elements in the state.

Bello made the pledge when he visited victims of gunmen attack at a police station in Eika, Okehi Local Council area of the state, where two policemen, a detainee and a community leader were killed, before setting the station ablaze.

In a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Petra Akinti Onyegbule, he promised to flush out criminals from the state in order for peace to reign in the state.

According to the governor, most members of the Muslim Brotherhood are remnants of fleeing members of the Boko Haram sect.

He explained that his administration has been proactive on security matters, having fully equipped the security agencies to tackle armed robbery and kidnapping.

“This terrorist cell depends on the proceeds they make from kidnapping to finance their activities. But unfortunately for them, their activities have been greatly reduced by the police and other security forces in the central part of the State,” he said.

The names of the people who died in the attack were Sergeant Nurudeen Audu Richman, Inspector Oga Festus and a community leader Sadiq Salawu.

It would be recalled that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had disclosed that an affiliate of Boko Haram has been established in the state.

He said the terrorists had acquired bomb-making chemicals and high-calibre weapons to perpetrate “acts of terror,” including attacks on banks, arms depots and prisons in the country.

A statement by the minister’s media aide, Segun Adeyemi, in Abuja on Friday, said intelligence monitoring showed that the cell had advanced in its Improvised Explosive Device (IED)-making capability.

The minister said the group had also acquired chemicals like sodium azide (for producing improvised detonators), potassium chlorate (alternative to ammonium nitrate that is used for producing IEDs) and aluminum powder (a fuel source for amplifying explosions).