…Suspect found with slain soldier’s ID card
From: Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
The military have arrested 126 Boko Haram suspects including one with identity (ID) card of a soldier killed by some insurgents in an earlier attack on a community in Borno in Borno State.
Outgoing Theatre Commander, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, told newsmen in Maiduguri, on Wednesday, that the military rounded up the suspects who infiltrated IDPs camps. He said the military got intelligence report after an attack on Sabon Gari in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State two weeks ago.
“Few days ago, we got intelligence that Boko Haram terrorists were planning to attack Damboa. This happened after the attack on Sabon Gari near Damboa where we lost some soldiers. We swung into action and rounded them up. We discovered the wallet containing ID card of one of the slain soldiers with one of the suspected terrorists we arrested,” Irabor said during a farewell visit by Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He said the suspected Boko Haram have also infiltrated the IDPs camp in the area, planning another attack on Damboa before the military swoop on them.
He disclosed that a Boko Haram logistics supplier was equally arrested at Yunusari, Yobe State near the Nigeria border with Niger. He said the man was caught smuggling 270 bags of 25 kg rice with cans of oil believed to be intended for Boko Haram in the bush.
Irabor thanked journalists for supporting the heat against Boko Haram, urging them to show more concern and interrogate issues concerning rebuilding and resettlement of displaced persons.
Earlier at the Nigerian Army 7 Division Maiduguri, outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC), Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu said he came on board as the GOC when the political will in the country was on top speed. He commended the President Mohammadu Buhari and the army Chief, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai for their leadership.
Ezugwu paid glowing tribute to officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives to liberate many communities in the northeast. He urged Nigerians to continue to pray for troops at the battlefield.