Troops of Operation HADIN KAI have arrested Yobe-based politician Alhaji Wakiil Goni Mama, popularly known as Mai Salati, over allegations of providing logistics support to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) elements and attempting to bribe soldiers.
Security analyst Zagazola Makama, citing military sources, reported that the arrest followed an alleged attempt to secure the release of suspects detained with suspected terrorist supplies in Kanamma, Yobe State.
The sources said the earlier suspects were undergoing investigation when Mai Salati allegedly offered money to military personnel to obtain their release.
Military sources describe intelligence-led arrest
According to the account, the Commander of Sector 2 and the 27 Task Force Brigade coordinated intelligence-led efforts to track and apprehend the politician.
The sources alleged that he had been supplying logistics to terrorist elements operating in the North-East.
Rather than accept the alleged inducement, the soldiers reportedly arrested him and began arrangements for his transfer to Maiduguri for further investigation.
Mai Salati and the other suspects were subsequently moved from Damaturu towards Maiduguri, where investigators are expected to examine their alleged connections with terrorist networks.
Sources reject claims of political motivation
The report also addressed social media claims linking the arrest to Mai Salati’s alleged defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Makama said security sources maintained that the operation concerned allegations of terrorist logistics support and interference with the detention of suspects, rather than political affiliation.
“The military operation, according to security sources, has nothing to do with any politics, but by allegations bordering on terrorism logistics and an attempt to interfere with the detention of persons suspected of supplying logistics to ISWAP,” he said.
The reported party defection was not established in the account, while the allegations against Mai Salati remain subject to investigation.
Investigators to examine alleged supply network
The military sources stressed the importance of disrupting the supply networks used by terrorist groups, including access to money, transport, communications, food, fuel and weapons.
They described the alleged attempt to obtain the suspects’ release through bribery as a serious matter requiring investigation.
The Bureau Journal has also reported on military operations against suspected terrorists in the North-East and a separate clash involving Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters in Sambisa.
Further investigation is expected to establish the nature and extent of the suspects’ alleged involvement.
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