Following the defence headquarters declaration of the arrest of the ISWAP terrorists that attacked an Owo Catholic church and killed no fewer than 4o worshipers on June 5, Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has spoken on he arrest.
Governor Akeredolu confirmed the arrest to the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akure, adding further that the owner of the house where the terrorists lodged has been arrested.
According to him, the government got on the trail of the terrorists immediately after the attack.
CDS General Lucky Irabor noted five of the terrorists were arrested while they were planning another attack.
Two of them—Idri Ojo, 39, and Jimoh Ibrahim, 32—are top commanders of ISWAP in Nigeria.
Irabor said Ojo was arrested at Ayetoro, Ondo State on Sunday, August 7 along with his other commanders, while planning another attack before intelligence reports identified his location and he was subsequently arrested in the operation.
Four other terrorists who participated in the Owo attack were arrested in Eja, Okehi local government area of Kogi state, in connection.
They are Idris Abdul Malik Omeiza, Momoh Ojowu Abu, Aliyu Yusuf and Auwal Onimisi.
Akeredolu then called on the Ebira community in the state to turf out criminals infiltrating and recruiting the youth for kidnapping.
Ebira, originally, is part of the ethnic groups in Kogi where terrorism has taken a new dimension lately.
Akeredolu initially faulted the federal government claim the attackers were ISWAP terrorist, saying the claim was too hasty.