( CNN ) -- Nigerian police have arrested a man claiming to be Boko Haram 's `` chief butcher '' in an area identified as the Balmo Forest of northeastern Nigeria . Detectives arrested Mohammed Zakari , 30 , as he fled from what police and the military describe as an intensive counterinsurgency sweep in the area . Zakari is accused in connection with the deaths of seven people , including women and children , according to Nigerian police . He is also accused of taking part in an April attack against Nigerian customs officers in Kari , police say . Boko Haram is a fundamentalist Islamic militant group based in northern Nigeria whose name translates as `` Western education is forbidden . '' Its members are accused in dozens of brutal attacks against Nigerian government offices , churches and schools since 2009 . Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the group is responsible for at least 2,053 civilian deaths in 2014 . The group based its account on media reports and field investigations . `` Boko Haram is effectively waging war on the people of northeastern Nigeria at a staggering human cost , '' said Human Rights Watch West Africa Director Corinne Dufka . Malala to Boko Haram : Stop misusing Islam . In May , the group abducted more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok , setting off worldwide condemnation of the group and prompting Western nations to send troops and aid to the region to help with the search for the missing girls . Last month , Boko Haram militants held residents in the village of Kummabza hostage for four days , abducting more than 60 females and killing 30 men . The women later escaped when militants left them alone in a camp while they battled Nigerian soldiers . Nigerian troops have been conducting intensive efforts against the group in northeastern Nigeria for days , according to government statements and Nigerian media reports . The military said it has routed terrorists from the Balmo Forest region and uncovered weapons caches as well as uniforms worn by Nigerian security services , according to Nigeria 's Ministry of Defence . Some of the suspected terrorists captured during the raid are `` volunteering information linking the activities in the forest with other terrorist activities in the country , '' the Defence Ministry said in a statement . On the hunt for Boko Haram . CNN 's Radina Gigova and Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report .
Islamic police say they 've arrested senior Mohammed Zakari member . They say Boko Haram calls himself `` chief butcher '' of Balmo Forest . That 's a region of northeast Chibok where troops claim to have routed Boko Haram . The terror group has been blamed for deadly attacks in recent years .