Troops arrest Boko Haram informants in North East
By Lesley Muosowo Otu
The Armed Forces said it has recorded monumental successes in their ongoing subsidiary North East Theatre of Operation with codename ‘Operation Kantana Jimlan’ which was being conducted as part of the conclusive phase of Operation Lafiya Dole.
The successes include the arrest of 16 high profile Boko Haram informants who fell into the troops’ dragnet within the last two weeks. While the arrest of such high profile BHTs informants has significantly dislocated the criminals’ information and supply chain which equally dislocated their communication.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major Gen. John Enenche stated this in a Press release made available to Newsdiaryonline on Monday.
He said the operation was being conducted preparatory to the final routing of BHT/ISWAP criminals from the Nigerian Territory by the troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.
Enenche also stated that the operation which was coordinated by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has intensified on various fronts especially within the Timbuktu triangle, leaving the criminal elements and their leadership in complete disarray and thus setting the conditions for the commencement of the final assault on their evil enclaves and hideouts.
According to the Defence Spokesman, several BHT/ISWAP targets were acquired and engaged with precision by Nigerian Army Artillery Regiments of Operation LAFIYA DOLE across the entire Theatre, thus delivering accurate fire on the criminals who were seen fleeing in disarray.
“In one of such coordinated artillery bombardments conducted between 1st and 2nd May, 2020 around the Timbuktu Triangle general area by the Offensive Support Group of Operation KANTANA JIMLAN, 7 Boko Haram Gun Trucks were destroyed while 78 BHT/ISWAP fighters were killed as confirmed by both aerial and human intelligence.
“In a related development and at same period, another successful artillery engagement to Buk in Damboa LGA of Borno State resulted in the neutralization of an additional 56 BHT criminals.
Acting on intelligence that a large number of BHT members were converging at the location which they erroneously considered as being safe from aerial bombardment, the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army Artillery Regiments acquired and engaged the location with deadly precision, inflicting heavy casualties on them.
“As confirmed by our intelligence sources, only a handful of the terrorists escaped the location with gun shot wounds, with little chances of survival”, the statement reads in part.
It was also stated that in a similar operation,16 high profile Boko Haram informants fell into the troops’ dragnet within the last two weeks. While the arrest of such high profile BHT informants has significantly dislocated the criminals’ information and supply chains which equally dislocated their communication.
“As the gallant troops continue to overwhelm the criminal elements on all fronts, it is quite apparent that the days of the criminal elements called Boko Haram are indeed numbered”.
On the other hand, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai who has been in the Theatre with the troops for the past 5 weeks has congratulated the gallant troops for their resilience, courage and dedication to the noble cause of defending our fatherland against the criminal elements.
He therefore urged trooos to remain focused and ruthless as they take the fight to the fleeing remnants of the enemies of our nation.
In the same spirit, the Army Chief is encouraging the public to provide credible information to the Armed Forces troops, saying, “the NIgerian Military remain resolute in tackling the security challenges of the Country”.
