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.