The Nigerian Army has said troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno State, liberated 455 persons held hostage by Boko Haram insurgents during clearance operations of suspected hideouts.
A statement on Tuesday from Army Spokesman, Brigadier General Sani Usman said troops of 112 Task Force Battalion, 22 Task Force Brigade, carried out a major offensive against suspected hideouts of Boko Haram insurgents.
He said the operations were at Artano, Saduguma, Duve, Bordo, Kala, Bok, Magan, Misherde, Ahisari, Gilgil, Mika, Hiwa, Kutila and Shirawa settlements in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.
Usman explained that, “At Kutila village, the troops came under heavy attack from the terrorists. The troops responded and dealt with the Boko Haram terrorists by neutralising and routing them out of the area.”
He added that, “Several others escaped into the thick forest with gunshot wounds. The troops recovered 1 Gun truck, 1 Canter vehicle and 1 pick-up from the terrorists.”
He said: “The troops also encountered Boko Haram terrorists at Shirawa who withdrew in disarray when they could not withstand the firepower of the troops and abandoned their newly constructed Logistics Base, two suicide bombing vests and maize grinding machine.
“The gallant soldiers proceeded further to clear Bok, Misherde, Mika and Kutila also in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, where they liberated 455 persons held hostages by the terrorists. The rescued persons after thorough screening have been moved to Rann Internally Displaced Persons camp.”
…Bandits surrender arms in Zamfara-Army spokesman
Some repentant cattle rustlers and armed bandits in Maru, Birnin Magaji and Gusau Local Government Areas, Zamfara, have surrendered their arms, following the disarmament drive of the state government.
Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, the army spokesman, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said that the dangerous arms surrendered by the bandits are one G3 riffle, 434 dane guns, 69 locally made pistols and eight locally made revolvers.
According to him, the others are 39 locally made multi-barrel pistols and 36 locally made double barrel rifles.
Usman said the weapons were handed over to 233 Battalion of 1 Division Nigerian Army, in the presence of some state government officials and representatives of various security agencies in the state.
He explained that the effort to disarm cattle rustlers and armed bandits spearheaded by the Zamfara government and 1 Division Nigerian Army was yielding fruitful results.
