Boko Haram:80 Boko Haram insurgents surrender to soldiers

Firstclass newsline gathered that the Acting Director, Army Public
Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said on Thursday that 80 members of the
violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had surrendered to the troops of the
Nigerian Army in Borno State.
Those who surrendered, the Army spokesman said, included Boko Haram
commanders, foot soldiers and suppliers of logistics.
Usman said in a statement that those who surrendered had been
confirmed to have participated in several attacks in Bama, Borno
State.
He said, "In a landmark event today, 80 Boko Haram terrorists have
surrendered en masse to troops ofOperation Lafiya Dole,in Bama, Borno
State.
"The terrorists, among whom were commanders, suppliers and foot
soldiers, confirmed to have partaken in several terrorist attacks,
especially on Bama town, Borno State, surrendered as a result of the
intense heat and continuous offensive action embarked upon by troops."
He said that the only option available to the insurgents was to
surrender as the Army, the Nigerian Air Force and other security
agencies were committed to the actualisation of the presidential
deadline to the military to end the insurgency in three months.
He urged other suspected terrorists to "also surrender or face total
elimination."
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters has said that since the change of
its leadership, soldiers no longer flee from battle. It said troops
now face terrorists squarely.
The Acting Director of Defence Information, Col. Rabe Abubakar, said
this when he paid a visit to the source Place, Corporate Headquarters
of Punch Nigeria Limited on Wednesday.
Abubakar added that the morale of the troops had been boosted since
the military command centre was relocated to Borno State following the
directive of President Muhammadu Buhari and that the fight against
insurgency had turned in favour of Nigeria.
The defence spokesman said the presence of military chiefs in the
terrorists' enclave and the availability of equipment had given
soldiers the needed impetus to fight terrorism and maintain
discipline.
He said, "If there were no enough weapons, I believe that what used to
happen in the past would be happening now, such as the desertion of
soldiers and soldiers granting interviews to the media.
"One of the elements of fighting insurgency is purposeful leadership
and as you know the military chiefs are all in Borno. When a commander
is in the midst of soldiers in the frontline, the morale is at an all
time high. When the Chief of Defence Staff is in the same place with
you, eating with you, it boosts morale.
"Secondly, we have arms empowerment. The lack of arms led to
desertions and court martial but that era is now gone. We now have
equipment that can conveniently help us confront this menace of Boko
Haram.
"We now have the combined efforts of land combats. And this translates
to the achievements we have today. Most importantly is the
re-orientation of soldiers. There is now a paradigm shift. There is no
propaganda.
"Whatever happens, we will say it as it is. If you observe, since this
leadership came on board, whatever we see, we say it because we want
Nigerians to appreciate what we are doing. We will keep Nigerians
informed of whatever is happening. Those who were dismissed were
investigated, recalled and are now being retrained."
He said that efforts were being made to improve the civilian/military
relationship, adding that departments had been set up to look into
civilian complaints and errant personnel were being dealt with.
The defence spokesman said the military had been able to destroy Boko
Haram at its core and that was why the sect was hitting soft targets
as opposed to when it seized territories.
He urged the media and members of the public to continue to assist the
military with information that would lead to the arrest of terrorists.
In a related development, Usman also on Thursday said that troops
involved in the ongoing counter-insurgency had raided another fuel
depot of the Boko Haram insurgents at Abbaganaram in Maiduguri, Borno
State.
Usman said the insurgents had been distributing fuel to their camps
from the destroyed fuel dump, which he claimed was discovered
following a tip-off by well-meaning citizens.
The troops had similarly destroyed a major fuel depot of the
insurgents at Ladu Bumbawa Ward in the Guzamala Local Government Area
of Borno on September 25, 2015.
The NA spokesman said, "Troops yesterday afternoon, following a
tip-off by well-meaning citizens, discovered and raided yet another
Boko Haram fuel dump at Abbaganaram in Maiduguri city, Borno State.
"During the operation, one Musa Abba was arrested and the following
items were discovered and confiscated: 11 drums of AGO, one empty
drum, 192 pieces of 25 litres jerrycans, (out of which 70 were loaded
with AGO, PMS and DPK), a Toyota bus one Peugeot car. a motorcycle and
an air conditioner.
"The fuel depot was used to stockpile petroleum, oil and lubricants by
Boko Haram terrorists and their equally heartless collaborators for
onward movement to the terrorists' camps in Sambisa forest."
He commended the members of the public for acceding to the request of
security forces to be furnished with information on the activities of
the insurgents.
"Over time we have been exhorting the public, especially the residence
of the North Eastern part of the country which has been mostly
affected by the acts of the Boko Haram terrorists to cooperate fully
with the military and the security agencies.
"It is gratifying to note that the call is being heeded to by the
overwhelming majority of the people as exemplified by the courageous
and patriotic efforts of the good citizens that exposed this fuel dump
in their midst. It is important that people should see the fight
against the Boko Haram terrorism as a collective responsibility," he
added.
Firstclassnewsline.net