Boko Haram: SSS Arrest Teenagers Over False Bomb Alert

Huhuonline.com can report that officials of the State Security Service (SSS) have detained two secondary school students for allegedly raising false alarm that the Islamic sect Boko Haram has plotted to attack the Presidential Villa and the National

 Assembly in Abuja.
Investigations have also revealed that the students, aged between 17 and 18 years were picked up in their school in Kagara, Niger State, following a tip-off.

Meanwhile, SSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, in a statement issued in Abuja, confirmed the arrest of the students, saying that the suspects have been duly interrogated and handed back to their school authorities and parents for proper counselling.

Ms Ogar said they were arrested for circulating text messages of plans by the Boko Haram sect to attack specific targets in Abuja, thereby causing apprehension and panic among residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs.

'One of such messages alleged purported plans by Boko Haram to attack the Presidential Villa and National Assembly on the 28th October, 2011.

'However, following painstaking investigations, the Service succeeded in tracing it to two persons who issued the threat text message with the aim of inciting a frenzy of fear and panic in the society. Both suspects are boarding pupils in a secondary school in Kagara, Niger State.

'The two suspects claimed they were encouraged to send such panic messages by an advertorial they saw in a national news daily of 18th October, 2011 that requested members of the public to volunteer information on the activities of Boko Haram.

'The service hereby wishes to urge parents to pay more attention to the activities of their children and wards both at home and in school. Particularly, the culture of providing GSM mobile phones to pupils should be discouraged, as giving young people of that age access to such devices distracts them from their academics and impacts negatively on their overall performance as seen in the recently released WAEC and NECO examination results.

'It also exposes them to vices associated with social networking which are easily accessed through mobile phones,' she disclosed.