Lagos (AFP) -
Nigerian police 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.
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| Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (centre) gestures during a video released by the Nigerian Islamist extremist group on July 13, 2014 (AFP Photo/) |
Zakari was implicated in "the recent slaughter of seven people, including women and children," it added.
According
to police, Balmo Forest is one of several bases scattered across the
bushlands of the northeast used by the extremist group blamed for
killing more than 10,000 people during a five-year insurgency.
Bauchi has been attacked repeatedly through the conflict.
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 recognised leaders.
Boko
Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in the north, is
nominally headed by Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the
United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
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| File picture taken on April 18, 2011 shows Nigerian police enforcing a curfew in Bauchi city, the capital of Bauchi state, northern Nigeria, following riots led by Muslim youths |
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