A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on the Yobe State capital of Damaturu after the Joint Task Force in the restive city conducted massive raids that led to the arrest of 25 suspected Boko Haram members, reports have said.

Spokesman for the military force in the state, Lazarus Eli, confirmed the incident to the Premium Times and said the security agency will continue more raids, determined to rid the city of the terrorist sect.

“Our men have conducted search on residences suspected of being used by terrorists and we have arrested 25 of them and also recovered a lot of ammunition including automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenades, and other sophisticated weapons,” he said.

A statement, Eli said, will be published detailing the ammunition secured by the JTF during the raids.

Residents in the terror-prone city have been ordered back into their homes to observe the curfew, they are to await further instruction from the government. However, a top official cited in the Premium Times report, said the curfew had been imposed not by the government, but by the JTF.

Eli denies it. He says the agency had only advised the government to impose the curfew in order to allow for successful raids. The JTF will advise the government as to when to relax the curfew, he says.