Army parades 26 repentant Boko Haram fighters
At least 26 Boko Haram members have surrendered to the military authorities in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.
The ‘repentant’ terrorists were paraded on Friday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital after they were quizzed by the military.
They were said to have surrendered last week and turned over their arms and ammunition including RPGs, after which they were taken to Maiduguri for deradicalizsation.
More than 2300 fighters have surrendered in the last 13 months following intensive military action and seizure of the Sambisa forest, the main enclave of the insurgents.
More than 25,000 people have been killed in the insurgency since 2009 and at least 2.4 million Nigerians displaced in the northeast states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
Meanwhile, the Army has confirmed it would conduct more exercises in 2018 to assist civil authorities to deal with internal security challenges in parts of the country.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said on Friday after leading troops on a 15km Route March.
Buratai said exercises `Harbin Kunama III, Crocodile Smile III and Egwu Eke Dance III would also be conducted in 2018.
Exercise Harbin Kunama I and II were conducted in 2016 and 2017, respectively, to deal with the menace of cattle rustling and herdsmen/farmers clashes in parts of North-West and North-Central.
While Crocodile Smile and Egwu Eke Dance were conducted in the Niger Delta and the South-East, respectively, in 2017 to tackle pipeline vandalism, oil theft and piracy, violent agitation and kidnapping.
Asked if there would be a special exercise to address recurring herdsmen/farmers clashes in Benue, Taraba and part of Nasawara State, Buratai said the military was not thinking of a particular situation.
“Well, we are not thinking of any particular situation, we are going to train on general areas which could include that aspect (Benue killings) as well.
“But our focus will be to ensure that security is provided across the country.
“So, definitely, expect Harbin Kunama III; Crocodile Smile III and Egwu Eke Dance III and probably another exercise coming which will be made known at the appropriately time.”
Earlier, Buratai charged the troops to be prepared as some of them may be deployed to any part of the country at short notice for operations to assist civil authorities to tackle internal security challenges.
He said he had approved funds for training in 2018 and therefore, they should expect a “robust training’’ during the period.
“This is to enable us to accomplish the task assigned to us by the Commander-In-Chief,” he said.
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