As the Nigeria military continue its assault on the Boko Haram terrorist group, over 200 members of the sect surrendered.
According to the Theatre Commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole (Peace is Must) in the north east, Major General Mohammed Abubakar , the decision of the terrorists is not unconnected to the ongoing offensive raid going on in the boader communities of Banki, Bama local government in Borno State and Cameroon Republic.
Many communities on that axis have been under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents until they were recently recaptured by the Nigerian military.
The Theatre Commander who was speaking at an interactive session with journalists on Friday at the military Command and Control Centre in Maimalari Barracks, Maiduguri revealed that those who surrendered were mainly women and children.
His words; “I am happy to inform you that over 200 terrorists group surrendered to may troops around Banki town on Thursday. The field commander just called me and briefed me about the development.
“We are calling on other terrorists to surrender as anyone who surrender will be reintegrated into the society. “Presently, we have 36 Internally Displaced Persons Camps in the north east and all those who surrendered to troops were screened before taken to these camps pending when the closed down roads will be reopen for motorists so that the displaced people will go back to their liberated communities.
“We have started sending our engineers to repair all the destroyed bridges. Already our engineers have started reconstructing the destroyed bridges along Gamboru-Ngala- Maiduguri, Gombi- Garkida- Biu roads among others and very soon the menace of Boko haram madness will be over, but this can never be achieved without the full cooperation of the media and the general public.
“The fight against insurgency/ terrorists is a collective responsibility and all hands must be on deck to nip terrorism in the bud”, he said.
In a another vein, he disclosed that troops of the 7Division has averted tragedy on Sallah day in Maiduguri with the arrest of a suspected terrorists who went to Madinatu Mosque in Maiduguri to plant an Improvised Explosive Devises(IED).
He announced that the suspect is under investigation and he is providing useful information to track down other accomplices.
