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Nigeria arrests another Boko Haram leader

Xinhua, April 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Nigerian government said Wednesday it has arrested another Boko Haram leader after capturing Khalid Al-Barnawi, suspected mastermind of the 2011 bombing of the United Nations (UN) building, early this month.

Preliminary investigations show Bello Danhajia, identified as a close associate and deputy of Al-Barnawi, was allegedly involved in gun-running, cattle rustling and other criminal activities, said Abdulalhai Garba, an official of the Department of State Services (DSS) to reporters in Abuja, the country's capital city, on Wednesday.

He said a prosecution will commence once the investigation is concluded.

Al-Barnawi was arrested by Nigeria's secret police on April 1 in the central northern city of Lokoja in Kogi State.

Garba said Al-Barnawi was known for recruiting young people into Boko Haram.

With Al-Barnawi's arrest, the DSS has achieved an "uncommon success" in the decimation of the group and its leadership, he added.

Both Al-Barnawi and Danhajia were believed to have plotted the bombing of the UN building in Abuja on Aug. 26, 2011, in which at least 23 people were killed and 70 injured. It was the first major bombing attack on an international organization in Nigeria.

The terrorist group Boko Haram, which has so far killed thousands of people in Nigeria, has claimed the attack. Endi