FROM TIMOTHY OLANRERWAJU, MAIDUGURI and FRED ITUA, ABUJA
Self-acclaimed spokesman of Boko Haram Islamist sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment on criminal acts and freed last week, has been rearrested at the Maiduguri residence of Sen Ali Ndume, sources said.
Konduga (a.ka Al-Zawahiri) had alleged Sen Ndume who is the Senate Leader, provided contacts of certain personalities in the country to him, which gave him access to issue several threats of Boko Haram attacks to such people.
A source close to the family of the senator said Konduga was identified as same person that alleged Ndume provided him with telephone numbers of some politicians with which he issued threats of Boko Haram attacks. Ndume was charged to court for disclosing information to terrorism suspect under Nigeria’s Terrorism Prevention Act.”
“He has been coming to the house since Sunday before Sallah. He asked for the senator but he was told the man is in Saudi Arabia,” the source said. He was however, arrested by the people around on the third visit on Wednesday, the source claimed.
Saturday Sun could not ascertain the purpose of Kinduga’s repeated visits to the senator’s house as at press time. Some residents around the area said he had come to apologise to the family for linking Ndume to Boko Haram activities three years ago. Others also said he may have come to request for financial assistance even after his role in the Ndume case.
Konduga was arraigned before Abuja High Court with Sen Ndume in 2014. He alleged the senator sponsored him to undertake Boko Haram activities. Ndume had pleaded not guilty to charges of passing classified information to an unauthorised person and of criminal intimidation.
Sen Ndume could not be reached on his mobile phone as at press time.
Confirming the incident to our correspondent on phone yesterday, an aide to Ndume who pleaded not to be named, said the Boko Haram suspect was arrested in the Senate Leader’s house, but added that, ‘boys’ who were around invited the police to arrest him.
The aide said the senator was in Saudi Arabia for his annual Hajj and could therefore, not be reached for further comments.
But the aide who spoke in confidence said: “He (Boko Haram suspect) went to the Leader’s house in Maiduguri to apologise to him over what he said about him in the past and, how he was told to implicate the senator. He went there the first time and did not meet the Leader.
“The second time he went there, some of Ndume’s boys, who followed him to court over his ongoing terrorism trial, recognised Konduga and alerted the police immediately. That was how he was arrested.”