Minna — Following the warning by the Niger State Government to the Federal Government of a base in Mokwa for Islamic sect, 3, 500 members of the sect most of whom are from neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon, among others, were yesterday evicted from the camp by the police. The women covered themselves with black veils, while the men were in white clothes.

It took over 1,500 combined team of armed policemen from the Niger State Command and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

THISDAY gathered that the policemen from the two commands invaded the area together with immigration officials acting on the directive from the Presidency.

The Presidency, it was also gathered, took the decision to avoid a similar problem with that of the religious crisis of the Boko Haram in some northern states which resulted into loss of lives of hundreds of Nigerians.

The combined team of Immigrations officers who were there to collate data and asertain the foreigners among them while the police searched and evacuated men, women and children from the place.

THISDAY also gathered that the team of policemen commenced the operation at about 4 am with eight lorries. The fundamentalists were relocated to Government Technical College, Mokwa for their initial camping pending government's next line of action.

Speaking in an interview, the Commissioner of Police for the Niger State Command, Mr. Mike Zuokumor, described the raid as successful without any casualty recorded on both sides.

He disclosed that the immigration officers who had already commenced the screening of the members to determine those who are Nigerians would ensure that the illegal aliens among them are repatriated.

According to him, "We have received series of report about the activities of the sect from the neighbouing communities, the local government and the emirate. Most people have been expressing apprehension concerning the activities of the group and it is our duty to ensure law and order.

"Some people have said their family members are forcefully held by the sect and wives are forcefully exchanged and that the people act without recourse to constituted authority."

He disclosed that the police would conduct its investigations and charged the people to court if needs be.

He regretted what he described as poor medical healthcare of especially the children in the camp and high mortality rate particularly as according to him; the sect is against the immunisation against the five child killer diseases.

Zuokumor also disclosed that no weapon was found on them when a house to house search was conducted, but maintained that the police had to expedite action following complaints by members of the community in which the sect reside.

The leader of the sect, Amrul Bashir Abdullahi, while speaking in an interview with THISDAY at the camp, disclosed that he had been living in the area before the police invasion since the past 17 years.

He denied the allegations that the sect never believed in Western education or Western medicine.