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| Col Sanni Usman. |
The Nigerian Army has said that more
than 200 insurgents have surrendered to the military following the
capture of the strategic town of Banki along the nation’s border with
Cameroun on
Thursday.
Banki is famous as the centre of a
growing international trade between Nigeria, Cameroun and other
countries of the Central Africa.
The Acting Director, Army Public
Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a short text message that the
insurgents surrendered to the troops in Banki on Sallah day.
“Over 200 Boko Haram terrorists have just surrendered to our troops in Banki.” He said
The
Acting Army Spokesman, who described the development as unprecedented,
said that the insurgents had run out of ammunition and other logistics
and were in disarray.
He attributed the victory and its
fallout to a renewed vigour on the part of the military, the government
and the citizenry in the fight against the terrorists.
He said, “I can tell you that the figure
is more than 200 and this is quite unprecedented. This is in line with
what we have been saying that the Boko Haram terrorists have run out of
ammunition and other logistic supplies.”
Usman had said in a late night statement
on Thursday that the troops who captured Banki also destroyed seven
Boko Haram camps, in addition to detonating seven Explosive Devices in
the town.
Speaking to journalists in Maiduguri on
Friday at an interactive session, the Theatre Commander of the Operation
Lafiya Dole (Peace is a Must) in the North East, Maj.-Gen. Yusha’u
Mahmud Abubakar, confirmed the development.
He said most of the areas that were hitherto in the hands of the insurgents can now be occupied by members of the public.
Abubakar said, “We have started sending
our engineers to repair all the destroyed bridges. Already our engineers
have started reconstructing the destroyed bridges along Gamboru-Ngala-
Maiduguri, Gombi- Garkida- Biu Roads among others and very soon, the
menace of Boko Haram will be over.
“But this can never be achieved without the full cooperation of the media and the general public.”
The Army chief further revealed that a
major disaster was averted in Maiduguri during the Sallah as a suspected
terrorist, who had allegedly planned to plant a bomb in a mosque, was
apprehended on the eve of Eid-el-Kabir.
He said the suspect was undergoing
interrogation and helping the security agencies with vital information
that would assist in arresting those responsible for Sunday’s multiple
attacks on Maiduguri, in which 54 persons were confirmed dead.
Source: Punch Newspaper
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