02 Sep 2009
Nigerian police reportedly claim that a gunman from the country's hotly-pursued militant sect has confessed to receiving training in Afghanistan.

The man, named Abdulrasheed Abubakar, was arrested in the northern city of Yola on Sunday during a police crackdown on the country's notorious Boko Haram gunmen, the local newspaper Next reported.

On Wednesday, the police said the 23-year-old had "confessed" that he had been paid USD 5,000 to do the training and promised USD 30,000 on his return, BBC reported.

The police has not clarified who has provided the funds to the man and whether his confession was volunteered.

"The bomb maker was trained outside the country and he is understood to possess extensive knowledge of how to handle, produce and detonate bombs of the most lethal magnitudes," the daily had quoted Altine Daniel, Police Public Relations Officer as saying.

Boko Haram, the man's alleged militant handlers, have been implicated in last July's violence in northern Nigeria which left around 700 killed.

The Boko Haram was shaped in 2002 in the northeastern state capital of Maiduguri. The group's continuous attacks against the police have made it the focus of Abuja's anti-terror efforts.

presstv