The police in Maiduguri, Borno State, have arrested a self-acclaimed spokesman of the Boko Haram, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, popularly known as Al-Zawahiri, while allegedly attempting to enter the residence of the Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume.
Our correspondent gathered that Konduga, who was recently released after serving a three-year jail term, was apprehended by Ndume’s aides on Wednesday and handed over to the police.
Konduga was arraigned before an Abuja High Court along with Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South), whom he accused of sponsoring his activities as a Boko Haram member. Ndume had pleaded not guilty to charges of passing classified information to an unauthorised person.
It was, however, learnt that when questioned, Konduga claimed that he was at the Senate majority leader’s residence to ask for his forgiveness over the issue.
According to a source, since the ex-convict returned from prison, he had attempted to sneak into Ndume’s house under the pretext of observing his prayers in a nearby mosque on three different occasions until he was caught on Wednesday.
“We did not recongnize him at first. Later, he kept on coming to the Senator’s house; we don’t know his intention. That was why we dealt with him and handed over him to the police. He said he had purposely come to apologize to the immediate family for indicting Ndume before the court,” he said.
The ex-convict, it was learnt, was taken to the GRA Divisional Police headquarters on Friday morning for interrogation.
Our correspondent also gathered that Konduga was taken to the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, on Friday by the police to ascertain his mental state.
However, Senator Ndume confirmed the arrest of the ex-convict on the telephone, saying that he did not have further details as he had been out of the country for the 2016 pilgrimage to Mecca.
