Borno: Police disagree with Army on arrest of suspected suicide bomber

By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

The Police have dismissed claim by the Nigerian Army that it arrested a suspected suicide bomber, identified as Abubakar Mustapha, in Banki town, Bama local government area of Borno State.

The spokesperson for the Joint Task Force North-East (Operation Hadin Kai), Lt.-Col. Sani Uba, had in a statement said that troops of the 152 Task Force Battalion arrested the suspected suicide bomber on Monday based on credible intelligence

According to Uba, the suspected suicide bomber was arrested about 5:40 pm on Monday, December 29, 2025 by military personnel deployed at the Banki Central Mosque alongside other security operatives.

The Army spokesperson said Mustapha was in possession of “materials believed to be components of a primed IED,” suggesting an imminent plan to carry out an attack at the time of his arrest.

However, the Borno State Police Command, on Wednesday morning dismissed the claim by Uba.

The Borno Police Command said contrary to the claim of the Army, the suspect was arrested by its operatives.

It also dismissed the claim that the suspect was armed with materials for making IEDs at the time of his arrest.

The command also released an official statement early Wednesday warning against misinformation.

“The Borno State Police Command has observed with concern the circulation of social media videos alleging the recovery of improvised explosive device (IED) components in Banki, Bama Local Government Area,” the statement read.

“To set the record straight, on December 29, 2025, at about 6:10 pm, operatives of the command, while on surveillance around a mosque in Banki, accosted one Abubakar in possession of a bag containing electrical wires, old mobile phone batteries, assorted gadget scrap materials, and pairs of shoes,” Daso clarified.

According to him, preliminary investigations showed that the items recovered “had no indication of active IED fabrication or priming.”

“The case has been transferred to the State Command Headquarters for comprehensive investigation. The suspect is currently in custody, while investigations are ongoing to ascertain the circumstances and intent surrounding possession of the items,” he added.

The Police spokerson also urged members of the public against spreading unverified information capable of causing panic, urging them to rely only on credible and official sources for updates.