Nigeria’s secret police have arrested and charged 45 suspects over an alleged Boko Haram plot to attack the country’s financial hub, Lagos.

“About 60 suspects were picked up from different locations in Lagos by the Department of State Services acting on intelligence information they were planning to attack Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi last month,” said one source, referring to an upscale area of Lagos.

Sources, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said some of the suspects were released after preliminary investigations, while 45 others were taken to a magistrate court on Friday.

“They were arraigned on holding charges. The DSS urged the court to remand them in prison pending further investigation and their eventual arraignment before a high court,” said a source.

Dolphin Estate is a gated community on the Ikoyi island, which is home to wealthy Nigerians as well as expatriate workers, many of them in the oil and gas industry.

Credit: AFP