Nigerian army has arrested a suspect allegedly involved in the recent attack on the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, in Jos south LGA of Plateau state.
The suspect, identified as Paul Kolsen, was taken into custody at about 3:30pm on Sunday at Farm Centre, where he was receiving treatment for a gunshot wound believed to have been sustained during the July 2 attack on the institute.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert, while quoting sources said Kolsen’s arrest followed credible intelligence and comes days after other suspects linked to the incident were arrested.
The July 2 attack was the latest in a series of assaults on the institution. During the incident, troops engaged suspected Berom militia members in a gun battle, killing one of the attackers while others fled into nearby rocky terrain.
Security sources said soldiers recovered a service rifle bearing registration number “CO-3175” during the operation.
The weapon was identified as one previously stolen from a soldier killed in an attack on troops at the Federal College of Land Resources Technology, Vom, on April 11.
The recovery of the rifle has widened the scope of ongoing investigations, with security agencies now investigating possible links between the attacks on NIPSS and earlier assaults on military personnel operating along the Kuru-Vom corridor.
Kolsen remains in military custody as investigators seek to establish the extent of his alleged involvement in the attack and uncover other members of the network behind the repeated assaults.
Security agencies said intelligence-driven operations are continuing across the area to apprehend additional suspects and dismantle the group believed to be responsible.
NIPSS, one of Nigeria’s foremost policy and leadership institutions, has come under three separate attacks by gunmen between June 16 and July 2.
The incidents have claimed the lives of about three security operatives and one suspected militia member.
