EIGHTEEN years after the Maitatsine religious riots in Jimeta, Adamawa State, which claimed many lives, the Nigeria Police have arrested their alleged mastermind, Alhaji Musa Suleiman.

Parading the suspect before the press yesterday in Abuja, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Tafa Balogun, said in the heat of the religious disturbance, Suleiman, also known as Musa Makaniki, escaped to the Republic of Chad where he had been hiding until he was extradited recently to Nigeria.

The police boss said that investigations had shown that the suspect had a hand in religious riots in Kano and Maiduguri in 1980 and 1982 respectively.

The suspect, he said, would soon be arraigned in court.

Balogun warned that the long arm of the law would always catch up with perpetrators of crime who thought they could flee the country after the commission of crime.

The suspect he said decided to hand himself over to the law enforcement agencies because he needed to go back to his family in Adamawa State. He, however, maintained that he was framed up.

Maitatsine religious disturbances in Yola occurred between February 27 to March 5, 1984, claiming thousands of lives and property worth hundreds of million of naira.