A multi-agency security team has arrested a wanted terror suspect, Mustakima Mohammed Ali, who was involved in the brutal killings of a police officer and two chiefs in Lamu County, Kenya.

The police officer and two chiefs were brutally murdered in December 2019.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) boss, Mohammed Amin confirmed the arrest in a statement on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

“The suspect was flushed out of a Malindi-bound bus in a Sunday afternoon operation by Anti-Terrorism Police augmented by their Special Operations Group (SOG) counterparts at the Sambaki Bridge road block while travelling from Lamu,” the statement read.

“Mustakima Ali alias Abu Mahir and his accomplices holed up after the monstrous murders that occurred in December 2019, first hiding within Boni Forest from where they were smoked out by security personnel and disappeared to a neighbouring country.

“In April 2023, three members of his gang dared a return into the country but were intercepted and arrested along the Isiolo-Moyale highway while heading to Somalia.

“They were charged at the Kahawa Law Courts and their case is ongoing. Other suspects who have since been identified but are still at large remain on police radar.” 

Airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has killed three top bandit leaders and scores of fighters at bandit leader Bello Turji’s camp in Kagara forest, in Sokoto State.

The airstrikes were conducted a few hours after the terrorists carried out a reprisal attack on a unit of Civilian Joint Task Force at Forward Operating Base Isa, in response to the killing of seven bandits and recovery of seven AK-47 rifles, four motorcycles and other items.

Eight Civilian Joint Task Force troops paid the supreme price during a gun battle with the bandits.

However, a counter insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad Region, Zagazola Makama, said acting on intelligence on withdrawal of the attackers towards the axis of Shinkafi, the air component immediately dispatched aircraft to track down the terrorists.

Sources said that the terrorists were trailed to Kagara Forest under a mango tree between Shinkafi and Isa.

Consequently, NAF aircraft attacked the camp in multiple waves, leading to the instant obliteration of scores of the terrorists.

The fleeing bandits were intercepted and mopped up by the ground troops in an ambush at Makwaruwa village in Sabon Birni of Isa LGA.

“Battle damage assessment indicated that some top bandits like KACHALLAH UBAN DABA, DAN JANGERU and DOGO NA HANTS where killed, while 13 bandits sustained various degrees of injuries. Bello Turji reportedly escaped the attack.”

Zagazola understands that the wounded bandits were sneaked into Kagara and are receiving treatment in a primary school.

The sources said that shortly after the encounter, the surviving angry fighters stormed Rijiya Malladan and Harin Shalla in Isa, where they set the villages in flames and destroyed food items.

They were, however, pushed back by the Joint troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in collaboration with government backed militia, otherwise known as Yan sa Kai.

President Bola Tinubu has secured an investment of $600 million from Danish shipping and logistics company, A.P Moller-Maersk, to expand existing port infrastructure to accommodate more container shipping services in Nigerian ports.

Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla, disclosed the decision during a meeting with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.

President Tinubu noted that this investment will complement the administration’s ongoing $1 billion investment in seaport reconstruction across the eastern and western seaports of Nigeria.

The President added that it would further support the country’s port modernization efforts and port process automation through his administration’s implementation of the national single window project, which is aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, easing import/export flow, reducing corruption at the ports, while improving the efficiency and transparency of port processes in Nigeria.

“We appreciate your business and the contribution you have made and continue to make to our country’s economy over time. We do not take our partners for granted. A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere.

“More investment opportunities are available, and my government has worked on various reforms to encourage investments. We need to encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimize trans-shipments from larger ships to smaller ships,” he said.

The President assured Maersk of his administration’s commitment to collaborating and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country.

He cited Maersk’s previous partnership in the development of the Ogun State container terminal as a testament to fruitful partnerships with the reputable logistics company.

Highlighting Maersk’s longstanding engagement in Africa’s most populous nation and his belief in the future of Nigeria, Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla said his company had made significant investments of over $2 billion in Nigerian ports and other activities.

He emphasized the potential for Nigerian ports to accommodate larger container ships and stressed the need for expanding port infrastructure to meet this demand while reducing the cost of logistics.

”We have seen a significant opportunity for Nigeria to cater for larger container ships. Historically, most of the West African coasts are already served by smaller ships. Currently, we see an opportunity to deploy larger ships to Nigeria. To achieve this, we need to expand the port infrastructure, especially in Lagos, where we need a bigger hub for logistics services. The growth potential is hard to quantify.

”We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships.

”In my humble view, given that Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria should have the best and biggest port and we are very eager to invest, and we will continue that dialogue with the relevant Nigerian authorities to explore further investment opportunities,” the Maersk Chairman said.