Lagos , Nigeria ( CNN ) -- The spokesman for Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has been captured after a months-long surveillance operation , a spokesman for Nigerian police said Wednesday . Security services tracked Abu Qa Qa through his phone even though he changed his location and phone number regularly , police told CNN . They said they 're now trying to confirm his true identity , though they believe that he is a Nigerian citizen . Boko Haram has carried out multiple bombings and shootings across northern Nigeria in recent days . Depending on the faction of the group , Boko Haram 's ambitions range from the stricter enforcement of Islamic Sharia law to the destruction of the government . Abu Qa Qa has been instrumental in linking journalists with the militant group and getting its messages out to a wider audience on social media after Boko Haram 's long-term shunning of what it deemed to be Western technology . His arrest has provided a much-needed boost to security services , who were criticized for failing to foil the January 20 bombings in Kano , which killed 211 people . The bombings struck eight government sites in the country 's second-largest city , leaving the police headquarters and other government buildings in charred ruins . The attacks prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to fire the country 's inspector general of police . Boko Haram -- whose name means `` Western education is sacrilege '' -- claimed responsibility for the blasts in a phone call to the Daily Trust , according to journalists at the newspaper . Further criticism of the police response after the Kano bombings came Wednesday from the human rights group Amnesty International . It accused the `` poorly trained and ill-equipped '' police of carrying out extra-judicial killings and other violations in response to Boko Haram 's attacks . `` Boko Haram has perpetrated numerous human rights abuses and shows contempt for life , but the security forces have failed to prevent , investigate , prosecute or punish these acts and have often carried out new human rights violations with impunity , '' Amnesty said in a statement . Suspected Boko Haram members who have been rounded up have not been tried , and innocent women and children have been detained to gain information about male relatives suspected of offenses , the group said . `` Investigations into crimes , if they occur , are often inadequate and not intelligence-led , '' Amnesty said . CNN asked the Nigerian government repeatedly for comment on accusations of extra-judicial killings but has received no official response . The accusations have also come from civilians caught up in the police activity . `` We are in a state of fear and turbulence , '' the mother of a missing man and his pregnant wife told CNN in an audio-only interview . She asked not to be identified because she was scared to criticize the government on camera . Neighbors said the couple was at home when security forces opened fire , demanding he let them in . The mother said her son 's Quran was scattered and destroyed and she found blood pooled by the bedroom door . Despite repeated requests to authorities , she said , no one has told her where her son and his wife are or whether they are still alive . `` My son is not a member of Boko Haram , '' the mother said . `` Had there been justice , they would have arrested him and paraded him before a court of law . This is a jungle justice . '' Boko Haram was formed in 2002 by Islamic preacher Mohammad Yusuf as an outgrowth of ethnic tensions in the country in the 1990s . Nigeria 's population is split between mostly Muslims living in the north and predominantly Christians in the south . Yusuf advocated the institution of Sharia law throughout the northern states and opposed democracy . The group operated openly from northeastern Nigeria and staged small-scale attacks against government targets . In 2009 , Nigerian police forces moved to crack down on Boko Haram . Harsh police tactics led to an armed uprising and the arrest of Yusuf , who later died in police custody . His death spurred the group to begin its attacks on police stations . Ensuing clashes between group members and the police killed hundreds .
Nigeria : Amnesty International accused Ibrahim of extra - judicial killings . He was arrested after a months - long police operation . Police are now trying to confirm his true identity . Boko Ibrahim has carried out multiple attacks in Nigeria recently .