Troops kill 31 terrorists, rescue captives in Borno

EU pledges $50m to fight terrorism

IT was another display of gallantry as troops of 151 and 118 task forces of 21Brigade on Wednesday killed 39 Boko Haram terrorists and rescued 324 captives from the insurgents’ enclaves and hideouts in Borno
State.

The Wednesday’s “mop-up and routing” of terrorists operations were carried out by troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in four Borno villages of Kekeno, Bulagana, Budumri and Bolungu.

The Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in a statement yesterday said that 10 Boko Haram suspects were also arrested, and they were cooperating with the military by giving useful information on the modus operandi of insurgents in Borno north and the Sasawa Forest in Yobe State.

The Army Spokesman said that two operational Toyota Buffalo vehicles and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists in the affected villages.

The statement reads in part: “Troops of 7 Brigade Quick Reaction Force (QRF), Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) on Wednesday inflicted casualties on Boko Haram terrorists, thus causing a major setback to the insurgents.

“This feat was achieved when the troops staged an ambush against the terrorists at Kekeno, in Kukawa Local Council of Borno State. During the operation, the gallant troops killed five suspects and recovered a Toyota Buffalo vehicle, three AK 47 rifles, two knives, a horse and locally made weapons.”

Usman said the insurgents were on a mission to retaliate the killing of one of their commanders when the troops ambushed them at Kekeno village.

In the statement, Usman also said: “Troops of 118 Task Force Battalion patrolling mile 90 in Kekeno general area, have killed a terrorist and captured two other suspects. The Army Special Forces on patrol to Yale came across a Boko Haram terrorists’ camp at Bulagana, cleared the camp and rescued 40 civilians held hostages. Unfortunately, a soldier sustained gunshot wounds during the operation. He has since been evacuated and is responding to treatment.

“Also, the 151 Task Force Battalion of 21 Brigade, while on patrol, encountered Boko Haram terrorists at Budumri village and killed 25 of the insurgents just as eight others were arrested.

“The troops also rescued 103 civilians held hostage by the insurgents. They recovered a Golf Volkswagen vehicle and quite a number of motorcycles and bicycles. The troops cleared terrorists’ camp at Balungu village.

The same unit also rescued 181 persons and captured eight suspects.

“Among those rescued were 18 men, 90 women and 77 children. The screening and profiling of those rescued is ongoing before their movement to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, while those arrested are being interrogated.”

Meanwhile, the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and other terrorist groups in Africa in has received another boost as the European Union (EU) pledged $50million as support.

German President, Joachim Gauck, made the pledge at a joint press conference, when he visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, after the two leaders held bilateral talks to mark the end of his state visit to Nigeria .

He also pledged that the German government would support the Multinational Joint Task Force with necessary weapons and equipment to tackle the menace of Boko Haram.

However, the German leader, admitted that the country’s quest to recover its stolen funds would not come easily, noting that it required an unusual solution, the reason being that there must be unorthodox means of collecting information on the position of such fund so that they could be repatriated.

Gauck, who lauded the stern leadership quality demonstrated by the President in the fight against Boko Haram as well the fight against corruption in the country, stated that the EU was supporting an already initiated approach by the Buhari administration.