Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have
recovered the body of Lt. Col K Yusuf, the former Commanding Officer
of 223 Tank Battalion and 15 soldiers who were declared missing.
The bodies were recovered after troops
conducted clearance operations and dislodging of some Boko Haram
elements at Asaga village along Kamadugou river line in Borno State.
The late Lt Col. Yusuf and his soldiers
were declared missing in
action on October 16, 2016 after Boko Haram
fighters dislodged them from their station in Gashiga.
The Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole ,
Major General Lucky Iraboh, who announced this yesterday during a
review of the operations under his command, said the fallen soldiers
were buried at the Maimalari Cantonment Cemetery “with full military
honours.”
Maj. Gen Irabor said the troops
successfully conducted several clearance operations and arrested 963
civilians as Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) suspects while two Boko Haram
members surrendered to the troops during the operations conducted
between January 4-11.
Gen. Iraboh said following reports of
an attempt by Boko Haram members to regroup, troops embarked on
clearance operation and clashed with Boko Haram at Wulge village. In the
fire fight that ensued ,11 Boko Haram members were killed while nine
others were arrested .
Also, six Boko Haram members were killed
while two soldiers were injured in a clearance operation on January 8,
2017. The operation involved troops and the Civilian Joint Task Force in
Dogon Chuku towards Tumbun Rago.
The theatre commander said: “ On 8 Jan
17 at 0830hrs, own troops conducted clearance operation in MANAWASI and
GAREL villages. The troops encountered BHT at BULAKESA village. The
troops successfully cleared the BHT with support from Air Component and
dominated the village.
“Sadly, an officer and four soldiers
were killed in action while three other soldiers were wounded. A total
of 50 BHT were killed in action while 3 AK47 rifles and several weapons
and grenade were recovered from the BHT. Also, 9 BHT adults and 18
minors were arrested during the operation,” he said.
Gen. Iraboh said on January 3rd, four
women and 13 children were apprehended by vigilantes at BUNI YADI and
were later handed over to troops. He said preliminary investigation
revealed that the women were wives of BHTs who fled from Sambisa Forest
as a result of the operations.
The theatre Commander said: “On 4 Jan
17 at about 1300hrs, own troops at KATARKO while on patrol along
GUJBA-NANAMAJI road arrested four BHT suspects fleeing TALALA. Their
names are Babagana Mohammedu from HONG in MICHIKA LGA, Usman Usman from
FUNTUA Katsitna State, Murtala Dan-azimi from KOFAR GOMBE Bauchi State
and Sanusi Dahiru from SAKWAYA in Jigawa State. Arrested suspects are in
own custody undergoing further interrogation.
“On January 5,2017 own troops and CJTF
arrested four BHT suspects at SHUWARI village ahead of own checkpoint
following a tip off that there were some BHT amirs lurking around. The
suspects are Modu Auwami, Mamye Modu, Usman Kachanawa and Mallum Maji.
During preliminary investigation, some local witnesses identified Modo
Auwami as the one who used to provide medical treatment to injured BHT
and had been seen wielding AK47 rifle on several occasions. The other 3
suspects claimed they were abducted by the BHT but only spent few days
in their camps. The suspects are all from DAGUMBA and GUMSHE in MAFA and
DIKWA LGA respectively. The suspects are in custody undergoing further
interrogation.
“On 8 Jan 17 at about 2317hrs, following
a tip-off a suspected BHT member one Abubakar Babagana Tijani (also
known as Mafiyo) was arrested at GONGE area of MAIDUGURI. The suspect is
believed to be among those at the top hierarchy of the BHT sect as he
is especially known for his cross border activities. He has been to
Chad, Cameroun and Republic of Niger at various times. The suspect has
been undergoing interrogation.
“On 6 Jan 16 at about 2120hrs, own
troops deployed at BUNI YADI arrested 2 men who were wandering forward
of own troops location. On challenge, one of them identified himself as
an ex-soldier. Troops arrested them and preliminary investigation
revealed that the ex-soldier was dismissed from the military in Jan 16
at NASI while the other suspect was his friend. The suspects are
undergoing interrogation. “
General Iraboh explained that a total of
119 Nigerian refugees were handed over to Nigerian troops at Banki by
the Cameroonian forces. They were made up of 20 male adults, 25 female
adults and 74 children. They were screened and moved to the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
He said the troops had reconstructed
many bridges. “ I am hopeful that my earlier call to well-meaning
Nigerians and corporate bodies for equipment support for construction
and rebuilding of infrastructure will be fruitful,” the military chief
said.
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