Defence Ministry Report
The Director of Defence Information of the Counter Terrorism Campaign, Chris Olukolade has revealed that the arrest of a terrorist who claims to be a Cameroonian and an arms courier for the Boko Haram Group has led to the discovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition hidden in the premises of a burnt church recently.
He said that the weapons recovered by the troops included: anti-aircraft guns, rocket propelled guns, general purpose and other brands of machine guns which were found buried in the premises of one of the churches earlier burnt by terrorists in Kalabalge Local Government Area of Borno State. Adding, other items recovered from the location comprised thousands of rounds of ammunition and links.
Chris Olukolade reported that the middle-aged man who led the troops on the cordon and search operation towards the recovery was one of the terrorists captured in recent raids. He also disclosed that the weapons were stockpiled to be used in a pending attack on some communities around Nigeria-Cameroon border; saying the weapons have all been evacuated while guard locations and patrols have been maintained in the general area and surrounding localities.
He further noted that the troops have continued with different operations assigned to the formations that are involved in the counter terrorism campaign. “The caves of a particular mountain captured overnight are undergoing a thorough search for terrorists who are believed to have fled there in the wake of the ongoing offensive on various terrorist enclaves. Arms are also the object of the cordon & search,” he stated.
According to him, the Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minima (Lt Gen.) has been looking over deployment as well as troop’s disposition at different locations of the counter terrorism campaign in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. He added that the Army Chief accompanied by his Airforce counterpart, Adesola Amosu (Air Marshal) also visited troops who were wounded in the course of the operation in the Military Hospital in Maiduguri.
“The Defence Chiefs were assured by the Commander of the Hospital, Brig Gen Okeke that most of the wounded soldiers were in stable condition; indicating that some of those who have recovered have expressed their desire to rejoin their units & colleagues in the operation. The Army Chief in his part directed that the hospital should not hesitate in letting him know any demands for referral or further treatment,” Olukolade reported.
“The Service Chiefs are also undertaking a comprehensive air surveillance of the entire mission area in addition to the direct inspection of some key locations where operations are being conducted. They told reporters who accosted them for separate interviews while in Maiduguri that they were satisfied with the state & performance of the deployment so far, noting that substantial expectations of the counter-terrorism campaign has been achieved.”
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