Army kill Boko Haram leader, rescue nine children

[frigidmagi]

Guardian

Troops of the 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade of the Nigerian Army yesterday killed the leader of Boko Haram, Abu Nazir, at Jarawa village in Borno State. The soldiers of Operation Lafiya Dole, supported by some members of the Civilian JTF, also rescued nine abducted children who were undergoing training at a camp near the village.

A statement by Army Spokesman, Brig. Gen Sani Kukasheka Usman, disclosed this yesterday. He said the terrorists had ambushed them about a kilometer to Jarawa village, but were overpowered and pursued into the forest.

Usman added that the rescued children were receiving preliminary humanitarian assistance in preparation to being handed over to Kala Balge Internally Displaced Persons Camp Management Committee.

He said the clearance operation followed the credible information that they received about the convergence of some elements of suspected Boko Haram terrorists. He disclosed that the troops also captured several weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, 1 double barrel gun, 1 primed heavy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and three motorcycles.

Meanwhile, the Acting General Officer Commanding 8 Task Force Division, Brig-Gen. Stevenson Olabanji has pledged the military’s capacity to end the insurgency in the northeast.

He made the commitment yesterday, while addressing officers and soldiers at the headquarters of 133 Special Force Battalion, Kangarwa, in Borno State.

Olabanji said the Nigerian Army is the bastion of democracy and freedom, as it is deployed in the northeast and other parts to deal with internal security challenges.

He promised officers and soldiers who have overstayed in their operational areas that they would soon be given the opportunity to go home in a rotational exercise.