Troops rescue 58, kill 13 suspected Boko Haram members

Troops of the Operation Lafiya Dole in conjunction with local vigilance group killed 13 suspected insurgents in two villages and rescued 58 from operations in Bomboshe and Sinbaya in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno at the weekend. The Director Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Sani Usman said the result achieved was from the continuous raid, fighting patrols, cordon and search on suspected Boko Haram hideouts in some villages, carried out by troops in conjunction with the civilian JTF.

This is coming as a fleeing member of the sect identified as Alkali, was arrested in Ibadan and is undergoing interrogation by the police.He confessed that he fled Sambisa forest and that some members of the group were in Lagos.

While confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adekunle Ajisebutu said the man was under interrogation. Also, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), has hailed the Department of State Services for its vigilance, which led to the arrest of suspected Boko Haram members in Lagos State.

Adams praised the DSS and sent out further warnings to criminal elements in the South West and other states with OPC presence that they would not be allowed to fester.Meanwhile, the Northern Interfaith and Religious Organizations for Peace (NIROP), has queried the motive behind Borno State government’s reaction to the arrest and interrogation of the Chairman of Mafa Local Government Council, Alhaji Shettima Lawan, who was caught harbouring Boko Haram fighters.

National Coordinator of the group, Bishop Musa Fomson in Abuja yesterday said it appears that while soldiers were diligently working to round up escaping terrorists, the politicians were covertly subverting the military’s efforts thereby making the work to be worthless.Fomson expressed worry that the action of the state government shows sabotage in the Federal Government’s quest to end terrorism.

He said Nigerians must rise up and condemn any attempt that will encourage the terrorist group from regrouping. He urged the army to remain focus in its mission of moping up remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists.

He said, “We appeal that Nigerians make vigilance their watchword, be their neighbors’ keepers and support the military to expose those that are political Boko Haram as we see this as being strategic to winning the battle and ensuring that the peace in the wake of the terror group’s defeat is not short lived.’’

Meanwhile, the Borno state government has returned 454 “rehabilitated and stabilised children” to two border liberated communities, after spending nine months at the Maiduguri stabilization and rehabilitation centre.

The children were accompanied by their mothers to join their parents and other relations in Bama and Banki. Addressing them yesterday at the stabilization and rehabilitation camp in Maiduguri, Chairman of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Ahmed Satomi, said: “We are not just returning these children and mothers to liberated communities, but on arrival, they will be provided with educational facilities to continue with their educational pursuits and future.”He said another batch of 482 children out of 2, 018 IDPs at the rehabilitation and stabilization centre, will be re-integrated and enrolled into schools in the metropolis.