The Defence headquarters, Thursday, said 13, 243 Boko Haram terrorists and their families have so far surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai with a view to escaping the combined air and land assault of their hideouts and enclaves in the Sambisa forest and Lake Chad fringes.
It also said that troops of Operation Delta Safe, fighting economic saboteurs and oil theft in the Niger Delta discovered and deactivated 51 illegal refining sites, while 23 oil bunkerers were arrested within the last two weeks.
Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Brig Gen Bernard Onyeuko who made the disclosure in Abuja, said the surrendered terrorists comprise 3,243 adult males, 3,868 adult females and 6,234 children. He said: “A total of 29 terrorists were neutralised and 13 terrorists including their informants/collaborators and logistics suppliers were arrested in the course of the operations.
“Additionally, 38 assorted weapons and 968 rounds of assorted ammunition, as well as 48 rustled livestock among several other items, were recovered. The series of land and air operations conducted in different locations across the North East theatre have reduced the operational capabilities of the insurgents. Consequently, more terrorists have continued to lay down their arms and surrender to our troops with their families as they could no longer withstand the offensive operations within the theatre. Some of these feats were recorded at Gwoza-Yamtake-Bita road; Gwoza-Farm Centre-Yamtake road; Mandara Mountain area as well as Pulka and Hambagda towns; all in Borno State.
“Furthermore, the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai carried out air interdiction missions to foil BHT/ISWAP criminal elements’ attack on ground troops’ location at Aulari village in Bama LGA of Borno State. During the encounter, three of the terrorists’ gun trucks were destroyed together with their occupants and another was immobilised, while several other terrorists flee in disarray with varying degrees of wounds.
“The Air Component of Operation Hadarin Daji sustained its offensive air operations against banditry and other criminal elements in the North West zone. Within the period in focus, using a force package of NAF platforms, multiple air strikes were executed on bandits’ enclaves in successive passes in different locations. One of which was at the Kwaga forest within Birni Gwari general area in Kaduna State.
