The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday confirmed the arrest of the third most wanted terrorism suspect, The Nation is reporting.
Although his name was not given, the report said the suspect, who is in the custody of the agency and undergoing profiling, has been indicted in the killing of expatriates in the country between 2012 and 2013.
He is among the list of 10 most wanted terrorists in which the United States government had offered $340million (£217m) for.
Top on the list are Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, $10million (£6.3m); Abu al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, $7million (£4.4m); Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, $5m (£3.2m); Georgian native Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili – also known as Omar the Chechen – $5m (£3.2m).
Nigeria’s Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram group, is number seven on the list with a bounty $10million (£6.3m).
The arrest is seen as a significant anti-terrorism breakthrough as many secret services in various parts of the world have been trooping into Nigeria to interact with the suspect.
United States President Barack Obama telephoned President Muhammadu Buhari to hail the feat, a source said.
“In fact, President Barack Obama placed a call to President Muhammadu Buhari to acknowledge what we did.
“We did not make it a media issue because before you know it, there will be editorials asking us whether we had addressed security challenges in Nigeria before helping the US.
“But the speed with which things are changing and expanding around us, I can tell you that security challenge is becoming more globalised.
“We have been taken into confidence as a nation better than what it was before.”
The report also added that the DSS foiled a terrorist attack on the United States through its active intelligence alert.
The DSS intercepted a plot to carry out a deadly terrorist attack on the United States, the source said.
“About six months ago, we burst a terrorist attack that was to happen in the United States. This earned the service a letter of commendation.”
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