The Department of State Services has claimed that Miyetti Allah’s President, Bello Bodejo, who was arrested by soldiers and DSS operatives on Tuesday, is not in its custody.
The DSS’ spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, made the development known in a message to journalists.
“Bello Bodejo is not with the DSS,” Afunanya simply revealed.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army’s spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said he could not confirm Bodejo’s arrest by soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
“I don’t have the information about his arrest,” Nwachukwu said.
Earlier, the National Secretary, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Al-Hassan, confirmed the arrest of the association’s President, Bodejo, by soldiers of the Nigerian Army and operatives of the DSS.
Al-Hassan disclosed the development in an exclusive PUNCH interview on Tuesday.
Al-Hassan said, “Yes, our national President has been arrested. It was soldiers of the Nigerian Army and DSS operatives who came here and took him away. But the DSS has always been here, and the soldiers are his friends. I think it’s the soldiers who invited him to make some clarifications, but when I get the details, I’ll inform you.
“However, I can categorically tell you that his arrest was not in connection with the creation of the Miyetti Allah vigilante group. We created the group for security purposes, and the police, DSS, and Army were all informed and they knew about it. In fact, a representative of the Nigerian Army and the DSS were present when we launched the group, and we also informed the Commissioner of Police.”
