A suspected leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist group was arrested and several weapons including rocket launchers seized from his home in the town of Diffa in southern Niger on Thursday, security sources said.
The town on the Nigerian border has come under attack from the militants this past week, since Chad deployed hundreds of troops to the area as part of a regional effort to tackle Boko Haram.
The man was identified as Kaka Bonou, a trader known to authorities for suspected involvement in trafficking stolen goods, the security source said.
“Different type of weapons of all caliber including rocket launchers, were found in his house,” one of the Niger military sources told Reuters, requesting to remain anonymous.
