by Isi Esene

There are strong indications that Abu Qaqa, the spokesman of the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram is in the custody of Nigerian security agencies.

Sources say Abu Qaqa and other top commanders were arrested when the Kano State Joint Task Force (JTF) on Sunday carried out a sweeping raid on the sect’s known areas in Kano.

Men of the Joint Task Force in Kano confirmed the arrest of top members of the Islamic sect but have been reluctant to give the identities of those arrested.

Reports say the apparent reluctance stems from the embarrassment caused the government in previous arrests when the government failed to properly identify suspects before making the arrests public.

There are however unconfirmed reports coming from the foreign media indicating that the Boko Haram spokesman might have been killed in the said raid.

According to the report, a top officer of the JTF spoke to the press saying that two militant suspects were arrested, one of whom later died but his identity remains unknown.

A source privy to the incident said a car which conveyed the militant leaders was stopped and one of them tried to escape and was shot. He later died in the hospital.

The source said some of the people in the car have informed the military that the person shot was Abu Qaqa, the man who signs emails sent to the media on behalf of the group.

The sect is yet to confirm or refute these claims.