Troops recapture 100 BokoHaram captives from Lake Chad islands

ABOUT a hundred elderly men coupled with some women and children have been recaptured by Army troops along the myriads of islands on the Nigerian side of the lake Chad even as they returned with seventeen insurgents tormenting the people.

Twenty insurgents were equally taken out while the men of the Nigerian airforce collaborated in their air pounding campaign in continuation of Operation DEEP PUNCH 2, designed to smoke out Boko Haram terrorists inhabiting the remote islands in Lake Chad basin lying within the Nigerian territory.

Spokesperson of the 8 taskforce division Colonel Timothy  Antiga said that the Nigerian Army, supported by soldiers of the Armed Forces Strike Group and the airforce inflicted heavy casualty on Boko Haram terrorists who recently returned to some of these islands within the Lake Chad.

The operation which commenced about two weeks ago was proceeded by coordinated air and artillery bombardment of islands and localities occupied by Boko Haram, and from where they sneaked into Magumeri, Kauram and other locations to loot property and attack security personnel and villagers.

Col Timothy said that Islands and villages cleared so far include Arena Chiki, Chikun Gudu, Arena Waje, Sa’ada and Juwe among others which jot out severally within the fishing settlements of lake Chad.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that a large number of the rescued persons were held against their will and forced to work on farms under life-threatening conditions and penurious wages apart from being sex slaves.

More investigation and interviews will be conducted during profiling of the civilians before the rescued persons some of whom were sex slaves are handed over to civil authorities for further action.

Antiga said that the operation which is ongoing has yielded handsomely as terrorists abandon vehicles, arms and ammunition, as well as assorted equipment when troops swooped on them.

“The troops have recovered 1Mercedes Benz Truck, 2 Toyota Land Cruiser Gun Trucks, 2 Toyota Hilux Pick Up, 1 Anti – Aircraft Machine Gun, 5 AK-47 Riffles, 3 Fabrique Nationals (FN) Riffles, 2 G3 Riffles and 1 Pump Action Riffle. Other items include 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, 2 Bombs, 2 Very High Frequency (VHF) Radios and 1 Night Vision Goggle.

“The troops also recovered 55 Rounds of 5.56 X 45mm ammunition, 5 Bangalore Torpedo, Two 120mm Mortar Bombs, 1000 Rounds of 7.62mm Ball Metal Link Ammunition, 55 Rounds of 7.62mm Ammunition and 108 Rounds of 12.7mm Ammunition with links, as well as 2 memory cards, 2 Hydraulic Jacks and a 1.5 Amp Battery.” He said.

According to him, it is heartwarming to note that “we have lost no life so far. However, 6 soldiers sustained various injuries and have since been evacuated for prompt medical attention. The Nigerian Airforce equally supported troops throughout the operation with Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance assets and also provided timely air interdiction, as well as close air support”.