The Nigerian Army says it has arrested about 39 Boko Haram suspects, 40 foreigners and over 42 Kalare boys in Gombe State.
This was disclosed by Commander, 301 Artillery Regiment, Gombe, Brigadier General Zakari Abubakar, during the West African Social Activity (WASA), which marked the Army’s end of 2016 calendar year.
According to him, the Nigerian military had gone hi-tech and this has helped in the fight against insurgency.
Brig Gen. Abubakar also thanked the Chief of Army Staff and his team as well as President Muhammadu Buhari for their contributions, but however called on members of the public to offer them greater cooperation and collaboration towards ensuring the complete defeat of Boko Haram insurgency.
He said: “The only problem we are having is the communities, the people have not accepted the Army the way they should. A lot of people do not volunteer information to us and we cannot do it alone.
“So we are calling on the populace around us to volunteer information to us to enable us perform even better.
“When they see any undesirable element, they should tell us. But if you collaborate with Boko Haram and hide them, that honestly will make our jobs difficult.”
The Commander of the 301Artillery Regiment also highlighted the lack of accommodation as one of the problems facing the troops which have despite the challenged remained resolute and committed to duty.
In his remarks, the Deputy Governor of Gombe state, Charles Iliya said people staying late to see the end of the event indicated their interest in the armed forces which he said called for a great gratitude to the military.
He said: “Gratitude for so many reasons, we would not have been standing here like this. But here we are today because peace has returned to the northeast and Gombe state in particular. That is why we are gathered here today feeling relaxed, feeling alright and enjoying ourselves.
“We therefore thank God, thank the Army; thank other security outfits for ensuring that we can sleep with our eyes closed these days.
“We wish you more successes in the northeast, more successes in other parts of Nigeria.”
Iliya who spoke on behalf of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo assured the Army that the government will never stop assisting the military formations in Gombe State.