Boko Haram abducts 30 woodcutters

By Sadiq Abubakar with agency Maiduguri Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major-General Rogers Nicholas, yesterday revealed that the joint operations of the Army, Air Force, Police, DSS, Civil Defenders and the civilian JTF, have rescued over 2000 civilians from the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents at the Lake Chad region.
Briefing journalists at the Command’s Operational Headquarters, Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, he also disclosed that two Chibok girls were rescued in Polka area of Gwoza local government area of the state during the operations.
They are Solome Pogu, who is on the list of missing Chibok girls with serial No. 86, and Jamila Adams, now a 14-year-old nursing mother. The duo, according to the command, were in safe custody of troops receiving medical attention and undergoing proper investigation by the security agencies.
Nicholas said after the command must have done its beats, it would hand them over to the state government for onward transfer to the federal government for proper rehabilitation and reintegration.
Nicholas added that about 200 insurgents were also arrested, including those that voluntarily surrendered to the troops yesterday, at the extreme northern part of the North-east sub region.
According to him, during the operations, weapons like gun trucks, rocket launchers, ammunitions, rifles, knives and others, were recovered from the terrorists, as many were killed while few fled with gun wounds from gunshots.
General Nicholas, however, appealed to the public to continue to avail the security agencies of reliable information about the movement of the insurgents around them. He assured that the military will continue to ensure that peace is restored to the state and the northeast at large.
The army chief further urged the public to bear with the rescheduling of curfew in the state, pointing out that it will soon be reviewed as the situation improves. He, however, clarified that the military does not impose curfew, saying it was the state government that announced it on the advice of the security agencies in the interest of all and sundry. ..30 abducted But the victory came amidst the abduction of some 30 woodcutters by the insurgents in Gamboru, a border town with Cameroun.
The loggers, according to reports from villagers, were abducted on Tuesday at a Boko haram hotspot. The loggers had left for Wulgo village in nearby Marte district, 15 kilometres away, with their axes and wooden carts to collect wood to sell and raise money to buy food, said Umar Kachalla, a member of the local vigilante group.
The kidnapping took place barely a month after 30 troops vanished following a raid on a military base in the same region amid a surge in bloody violence. Two weeks ago, Boko Haram gunmen shot dead 10 loggers from Gamboru in the bush outside Wulgo while collecting firewood, said another militia Shehu Mada, while speaking to the AFP.

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