Military frees women, children seized by B’Haram

The Director, Defence Information,
Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, has said
that troops of the Nigerian Army
have recovered some women and
children who were locked up by
insurgents in Gwoza.
Olukolade said that the hostages
were being given medical
attention and necessary care by
troops pending the arrival of troops
in the area.
He said that some of the freed
hostages were providing useful
information to troops on the
activities of the soldiers.
“A number of women, the elderly
and children who were locked up
by fleeing terrorists in Gwoza have
been freed by troops as cordon and
search along with mopping up
operations continue in the town.
“The freed hostages some of whom
are so weak are being given
medical attention while others are
also receiving necessary care
pending the arrival and activities of
aid agencies.
“Some of them are also providing
useful information for the
intelligence in aid of troops
operations in the area.”
He stated also that the troops also
discovered a building converted by
insurgents to a bomb-making
factory.
According to him, the military has
embarked on a careful evacuation
of the dangerous materials stored
in the building.
Meanwhile, men of the 301 Artillery
Regiment of the Nigerian Army on
Monday foiled what could have
been a major attack by insurgents
on Gombe State.
Parading the corpses of the
insurgents before newsmen at the
army barracks Gombe, the
spokesperson for the regiment,
who insisted his name must not be
mentioned, said the military
succeeded in killing three of the
insurgents and captured one alive
after a gun duel at Dukku Local
Government Area of the state.
Items recovered from the
insurgents, according to the
spokesperson, include a Hilux van, a
smart card reader machine
belonging to the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
three boxes of assorted
ammunition, one FM rifle and a pair
of police uniform.
“The success was recorded in the
early hours of Monday, (00:30 GMT)
when the gunmen attempted to
attack a military checkpoint at
Dukku but our men overpowered
them,” he said.
He urged the general public to
remain calm, as the military was
ready to protect lives and property
of residents in all parts of the state.
“We thank the general public for
cooperating with us. If we continue
to get useful information from the
public, we will wipe out any person
or group that tries to bridge the
peace of Gombe and Nigeria at
large,” the spokesman emphasised.