Boko Haram did not kill 150 in Yobe, says military

Eliminates dozens of terror suspects in Borno

Troops of 26 Task Force Brigade in Gwoza, Borno State, on Tuesday killed over three dozens of suspected Boko Haram terrorists and recovered arms and ammunition in a sustained aerial and ground bombardment of the Sambisa Forest.

The development came as the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) denied reports that 150 people were killed in Kukuwa-Gari, a village in Yobe State by Boko Haram insurgents, saying “the report is not true, utterly scurrilous and very misleading.”

It was gathered that Boko Haram vehicles, weapons and motorcycles were also destroyed in the five-hour coordinated joint military operations in the Sambisa Forest.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in a statement issued yesterday in Maiduguri, Borno State, said the fleeing terrorists were intercepted in seven pick-up vans and some motorcycles mounted with assorted weapons such as rocket propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns, during which they were decisively dealt with by the troops, killing quite a number of them.

“The troops also destroyed their vehicles, weapons and motorcycles. They recovered a vehicle, one motorcycle and two AK47 riffles and large quantities of 7.62mm NATO and 12.7mm ammunitions.

“The troops have also intensified their patrols and offensive actions against the terrorists in the areas of Gwoza and east flank of the Sambisa Forest,” Usman said.

A statement from the Acting Director of Defence Information, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, said the report is farther from the truth. He said actually there was a planned attack on the village by the insurgents, but intelligence got wind of it and dealt with the situation as appropriate, killing four Boko Haram members. A member of the vigilante group was said to have been lost, and some arms recovered from the terrorists.

Col. Abubakar said: “The media reports which claim that over 150 people from Kukuwa-Gari village were shot dead by Boko Haram gunmen in Yobe State while many others fleeing from the gunmen drowned in Yobe River in the mid-afternoon yesterday is not true, utterly scurrilous and very misleading.

“The truth of the matter is that military got an intelligence report concerning a planned attack by Boko Haram on Kukuwa-Gari village in Yobe State. Following the tip-off, troops and civilian JTF laid ambush between Kukuwatashi and Kukuwa-Gari villages.

“The insurgents ran into them and a gun-battle ensued in which four Boko Haram members and one civilian JTF lost their lives. At the end of the encounter, 2 x AK 47 rifles and 2 x motorcycles used by the Boko Haram terrorists were recovered from them.”