BY SEYIFUNMI LUMEKO
The Director of Nigerian Army Publication Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, on Wednesday, said 87 suspected terrorists have surrendered to the Nigerian troops at Forwarding Operational Base in Bama, Borno State.
Nwachukwu, in a statement, noted that the troops carried out artillery and bombardments at the Sambisa Forest, adding that the surrendered terrorists were 19 male fighters, 19 adult females and 49 children.
READ ALSO: Nigeria lists coastal cities to benefit from the FEC approved $11.17bn rail project
According to him, eight AK 47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun, two Fabrique Nationale Rifles, one Dane Gun, one Makarov Pistol, 89 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition, 89 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition among others were recovered from them.
The statement was titled, ‘Operation Hadin Kai: More BHTS/ISWAP fighters surrender as troops intensify offensive operations.’
Nwachukwu read: “In continuation of the ongoing intensive clearance operations across the theatre of Operation HADIN KAI, more Boko Haram terrorists and elements of Islamic State of West Africa Province and their families, who have hitherto hibernated around the fringes of Sambisa Forest have yielded to troops’ heavy artillery and air bombardments and surrendered to troops at forwarding Operational Base Banki Junction/BOCOBS in Bama, Borno State on August 2, 2021
“The terrorists who also surrendered several assorted weapons and incendiaries comprised 19 male fighters, 19 adult females and 49 children from Njimia village and environs.
“The firearms and incendiaries recovered from the terrorists include 8 AK 47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun, two Fabrique Nationale Rifles, one Dane Gun, 1Makarov Pistol, 89 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition, 89 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, 66 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 5 x 9mm rounds of ammunition, two hand grenades, 27 AK 47 Rifle magazines and two FN Rifle magazines.
“Others are 1 pistol magazine, 1 x 60mm Mortar Bomb, 10 x14.5mm empty cases, two primed suicide vests, 72 trigger switches, 10 primed Improvised Explosive Devices, 5 Electric Detonating Chords, 6 packs of Water Gel Explosives, 6 Mobile Phones, one Camel Pack, one Camouflage bag, two hard drives, one pair of plier, two unserviceable hand-held radios, two pairs of scissors, and needles, two matchboxes and N55,000 only.
“The terrorists and their families are currently undergoing comprehensive security profiling and preliminary investigations, while the children have been administered with oral polio vaccines”.