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| A funeral for some fallen heroes in the past |
Troops
of Operation Lafiya Dole have
recovered the body of Lt. Col K Yusuf, the former Commanding Officer of
223 Tank Battalion and 15 soldiers who were declared missing.
The
bodies were recovered after troops conducted clearance operations
and dislodging of some Boko Haram elements at Asaga village along Kamadugou
river line in Borno State.
The
late Lt Col. Yusuf and his soldiers were declared missing in action on October
16, 2016 after Boko Haram fighters dislodged them from their station in
Gashiga.
The
Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya
Dole , Major General Lucky Iraboh, who announced this yesterday
during a review of the operations under his command, said the fallen soldiers
were buried at the Maimalari Cantonment Cemetery “with full military honours.”
Maj.
Gen Irabor said the troops successfully conducted several clearance operations
and arrested 963 civilians as Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) suspects while two
Boko Haram members surrendered to the troops during the operations conducted
between January 4-11.
Gen.
Iraboh said following reports of an attempt by Boko Haram members to regroup,
troops embarked on clearance operation and clashed with Boko Haram at Wulge
village. In the fire fight that ensued ,11 Boko Haram members were killed while
nine others were arrested .
Also,
six Boko Haram members were killed while two soldiers were injured in a
clearance operation on January 8, 2017. The operation involved troops and the
Civilian Joint Task Force in Dogon Chuku towards Tumbun Rago.
The
theatre commander said: “ On 8 Jan 17 at 0830hrs, own troops conducted
clearance operation in MANAWASI and GAREL villages. The troops encountered BHT
at BULAKESA village. The troops successfully cleared the BHT with support from
Air Component and dominated the village.
“Sadly,
an officer and four soldiers were killed in action while three other soldiers
were wounded. A total of 50 BHT were killed in action while 3 AK47
rifles and several weapons and grenade were recovered from the BHT. Also, 9 BHT
adults and 18 minors were arrested during the operation,” he said.
Gen.
Iraboh said on January 3rd, four women and 13 children were apprehended by
vigilantes at BUNI YADI and were later handed over to troops. He said
preliminary investigation revealed that the women were wives of BHTs who fled
from Sambisa Forest as a result of the operations.
The
theatre Commander said: “On 4 Jan 17 at about 1300hrs, own troops at
KATARKO while on patrol along GUJBA-NANAMAJI road arrested four BHT suspects
fleeing TALALA. Their names are Babagana Mohammedu from HONG in MICHIKA LGA,
Usman Usman from FUNTUA Katsitna State, Murtala Dan-azimi from KOFAR
GOMBE Bauchi State and Sanusi Dahiru from SAKWAYA in Jigawa State. Arrested
suspects are in own custody undergoing further interrogation.
“On
January 5,2017 own troops and CJTF arrested four BHT suspects at SHUWARI
village ahead of own checkpoint following a tip off that there were some BHT
amirs lurking around. The suspects are Modu Auwami, Mamye Modu, Usman Kachanawa
and Mallum Maji. During preliminary investigation, some local witnesses identified
Modo Auwami as the one who used to provide medical treatment to injured BHT and
had been seen wielding AK47 rifle on several occasions. The other 3 suspects
claimed they were abducted by the BHT but only spent few days in their camps.
The suspects are all from DAGUMBA and GUMSHE in MAFA and DIKWA LGA
respectively. The suspects are in custody undergoing further interrogation.
“On
8 Jan 17 at about 2317hrs, following a tip-off a suspected BHT member one
Abubakar Babagana Tijani (also known as Mafiyo) was arrested at GONGE area of
MAIDUGURI. The suspect is believed to be among those at the top hierarchy of
the BHT sect as he is especially known for his cross border activities. He has
been to Chad, Cameroun and Republic of Niger at various times. The suspect has
been undergoing interrogation.
“On
6 Jan 16 at about 2120hrs, own troops deployed at BUNI YADI arrested 2 men who
were wandering forward of own troops location. On challenge, one of them
identified himself as an ex-soldier. Troops arrested them and preliminary
investigation revealed that the ex-soldier was dismissed from the military in
Jan 16 at NASI while the other suspect was his friend. The suspects are
undergoing interrogation. “
General
Iraboh explained that a total of 119 Nigerian refugees were handed over to
Nigerian troops at Banki by the Cameroonian forces. They were made up of 20
male adults, 25 female adults and 74 children. They were screened and moved to
the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
He
said the troops had reconstructed many bridges. “ I am hopeful that my earlier
call to well-meaning Nigerians and corporate bodies for equipment support for
construction and rebuilding of infrastructure will be fruitful,” the military
chief said.
Source:The
Nation
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