Troops rescue three more Chibok girls, arrest 14 terrorists

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) under the Nigerian army say they have rescued three of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

Musa Danmadam, the defence media operations director, said this on Thursday at a media briefing on military operations across Borno and Yobe.

On April 14, 2014, over 200 schoolgirls were abducted when insurgents attacked the Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS) in Chibok, Borno.

The rescued schoolgirls identified as Jinkai Yama, Falmata Lawal, and Asabe Ali were numbered 20, 3, and 12 on the abducted Chibok girls’ list.

Danmadam said the girls were rescued with their children and 19 other abductees at different locations.

He added that the troops neutralised 52 suspected Boko Haram terrorists alongside Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters and arrested 14 terrorists.

“Weapons recovered by the troops include two unexploded grenades, 12 AK47 rifles, 3 FN rifles, 5 AK47 magazines, one automatic grenade launcher, one hand grenade, 1 AP mine, 86 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, one motorcycle, 16 bows and arrows, seven bicycles and 10 mobile phones,” he said.

The defence director further disclosed the arrest of a suspected foreign logistic supplier and arms dealer to the insurgents, identified as Abatcha Bukar, armed with assorted injections, two automated teller machine (ATM) cards and the sum of N294,520.00.

In a recent operation, Danmadam said the land and air component of OPHK, in a coordinated attack on September 3, had delivered the terrorists a fatal blow by bombarding their hideouts.

According to him, feedback revealed that over 200 terrorists were neutralised, including five high-profile commanders.

He added that a total of 556 suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists and their families, comprised of 115 adult males, 189 females and 252 children, surrendered to troops at different locations.

He said the troops handed over suspects and recovered items to the appropriate authority.