Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Lagos State, Mr. Kumar Sanda, has disclosed that hundreds of suspected Boko Haram members have been arrested across various locations in the state.
Sanda made the revelation on Wednesday, April 16, during an award ceremony held in Lagos, where he highlighted the CJTF’s ongoing operations aimed at preventing the infiltration of insurgents and bandits fleeing the North into the Southwest.
“If I should mention the number of Boko Haram members we have arrested in Lagos State, people will not believe it,” Sanda stated. “But we have arrested thousands.”
According to him, the CJTF, in collaboration with local security agencies, routinely carries out surveillance and makes arrests at trailer parks, quarries, markets, and other gathering points where individuals from the northern part of the country arrive in Lagos.
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“The CJTF monitors trailer parks, quarries, and checks truck pushers because we understand the channels through which they enter Lagos. Our people must remain vigilant. Not all Abokis are bad, but not all are good either,” he said. “We are committed to keeping Lagos free from Boko Haram and banditry.”
Sanda emphasized that Boko Haram has no operational foothold in Lagos State and credited the close collaboration between the CJTF and the Lagos State Government for maintaining security.
“The Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor is constantly in touch with us to ensure the people sleep with their eyes closed,” he added.
He further revealed that many of the arrested suspects are not Nigerian citizens but individuals who have infiltrated the country’s porous borders and blended in with local communities.
He stressed the importance of monitoring migrant populations, particularly those claiming to be from Borno State — where the Boko Haram insurgency originally began.
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“Whenever you see a man from Borno State, you might feel scared because of Boko Haram,” he said. “But many of those you see are not truly Nigerians. That’s not to say there are no Nigerians among them.”
Sanda explained that CJTF operatives use their knowledge of ethnic and regional identifiers to track and verify new arrivals.
“A person from Borno can identify others from his state; the same goes for indigenes of Kano and other states,” he said.