The Nigerian army has arrested members of a network supplying fuel to separatists’ fighters in Cameroon.

A network specialised in supplying fuel to separatists in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon was dismantled in an operation carried out by the Nigerian army. It took place last Friday May 24, 2024 along the Abong-Kurmi Baissa road in Taraba State, on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon.

The Nigerian military said the suspects, identified as Jafaru Adamu, (32), Auwal Haruna, (34), Umar Dahiru, Mubarak Abdullahi, (20), Saidu Musa, (26), Bashiru Ibrahim, (18), Danlami Yahuaza, (19), and Abubakar Abdullahi, (19), were arrested while crossing the border with a large quantity of fuel.

During preliminary investigations, the suspects confessed smuggling and selling fuel to Ambazonian rebels in Cameroon, who are banned from entering Nigeria for direct purchase.

At the time of their arrest, the suspects were in three J5 vehicles with a total of 24,200 litres of fuel with a value of nineteen million three hundred and sixty thousand naira (₦19,360,000).