Military kills 36 Boko Haram terrorists, arrests 3, 332 civilian suspects

Death toll in Air Force accidental bombing hits 112

Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have killed 36 Boko Haram terrorists and arrested 3,332 civilian suspects in coordinated aerial and ground military operations against fleeing insurgents from Sambisa Forest and other hideouts.

Among the arrested civilian suspects, 26 were foreigners from Chad and Niger and they would be handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Services for further investigation and deportation.

Announcing the arrest in Maiduguri, the Theatre Commander, Major General Lucky Irabor disclosed that the killing of terrorists occurred in Borno and Gombe states.

He said some arrested civilian suspects were also cattle rustlers and suppliers of fuel and food to Boko Haram.Irabor added that the seven cattle rustlers were in procession of 34 cows, before they were intercepted in Mafa Council Area of the state.

He disclosed that five of the Boko Haram terrorists, surrendered to the troops, including 31- year old Mohammed Abubakar, whose right hand and leg were amputated by insurgents for fleeing their hideout in Sambisa Forest.

Speaking on Rann death toll, Irabor said that though investigation by the board of inquiry was still going on, the casualty figures have hit 112, while the injured stood at 97 persons.

Meanwhile, a member of the Presidential Committee on North East Initiative (PCNI), Yusuf Buba Yakub has said that modality has been put in place to ensure that north east economy was brought “back to life.”

Yakub, who is the chairman of the sub committee on economic development, disclosed in Gombe, that their tour of the zone was to observe things for themselves to enable them take appropriate measures in ensuring stability in the zone.

He said government was already working towards ensure that the wanton killings by the fleeing insurgents were halted, disclosing that normalcy had returned to some areas.

In Yobe State, about 10,261 internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Kukareta Resettlement Camp have resolved not to return to their ancestral communities over fear for their lives and property.

Announcing their decision yesterday in Damaturu, the Kukareta village Head, Lawan Babagana said that 10, 126 IDPs households refused to return because of the fear of Boko Haram attack in their respective communities.