Troops kill three terrorists, arrest suspected killers of Gen. Shuwa

• Military to clear Sambisa forest with counter IEDs

Troops of the 22 Brigade Garrison on operation in four villages have killed three suspected members of the insurgents and arrested nine others dug out while hiding in foxholes.

The Army also disclosed yesterday that a suspect has been arrested for alleged complicity in the murder of a Nigeria civil war veteran, Major General Mohammed Shuwa (rtd).

Shuwa was said to have been attacked in his house in Maiduguri Borno State by suspected Boko Haram terrorists on 2nd November 2012, for his expressed stance against the sect’s activities in the North East, while entertaining a guest who came to visit him.

Two other suspected members of the sect were paraded in Kano after intelligence operation.

The accused persons, Ali Mohammed a.k.a Amir, 25 years and Muhammed Sani Nafiu a.k.a Malam Yaro, 35, were arrested on 30th April and 1st May, 2016 respectively.

Preliminary investigation showed that Mohammed Sani Nafiu was the ring-leader of the group that led the gruesome murder of Shuwa.

Parading the accused at a press briefing at the Nigerian Army, Bukavo Barracks, Brigadier General Hamisu Hassan, told journalists that they were intercepted by security operatives at Hotoro quarters in Kano.

Also, another 400 persons suspected to have been held hostage by the sect were rescued by the troops and set free after proper profiling.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said the four villages, namely Cinga, Mallum Maja, Bosuma and Murye, are known to be littered with suspected Boko Haram terrorists always armed to the teeth and it is one of the areas where much of the logistics are supplied to the various enclaves, especially now that the tide of the counter-insurgency operation has turned against them.

Usman said in a statement confirming the killing and arrest of the sect members that items recovered from the suspected terrorists include nine dane guns, three machetes, one bow with arrows, six motorcycles used by the Boko Haram terrorists to ferry slaughtered cow meat to terrorists’ hide-outs were also recovered and burnt.

Meanwhile, in appraising the levels of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East sub-region to counter-insurgency and terrorism, several counter Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have been deployed to clear Sambisa Forest and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists that are fleeing, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, has disclosed.

In another development, to further weaken the stronghold of insurgents in the northern part of the country, the military, through the Operation Lafiya Dole, is conducting operations in the heart of Sambisa Forest to smoke out Boko Haram fighters.