The Nigerian Army has said that it has rescued 1,890 people who were being held by the Boko Haram insurgents.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Friday that the captives were rescued at various locations in the North-East in the past two weeks.
He said that the rescued people included 800 Nigerians who crossed over to Banki, Cameroon and were brought back to the country by troops of the 21 Brigade on Thursday.
Usman said, “Troops of the 121 Task Force rescued 45 persons comprising 17 women and 28 children during a joint operations with Cameroonian forces at Mararraba, Angwan Fada, Dale and Wizha Bokko Timit, Bokko Nasanu and Bokko Hidde up to Ngoshe.”
He said that 350 others including five Cameroonian girls were rescued in a joint operation by troops of 7 Division Garrison, 112 Battalion, Army Headquarters Support Group and Armed Forces Special Forces at Gajibo, Maula, Gamai, Gamare, Maiwa, Warsale, Tangli, Tushi, Sowa, Hasanari, Changuwa, Malamaja, and Marya in Dikwa and Mafa Local Government Areas.
He added that a similar rescue operation by the troops of 7 Division Garrison, their counterparts of 112 Task Force Battalion, and Armed Forces Special Forces, on February 17, 2016, at Kwaptara, Mijigete, Garin Boka, Mosole, Ngubdori, Ma’asa, Dukje and Gulumba in Dikwa and Bama Local Government Areas resulted in the rescue of 195 Boko Haram’s captives.
“On February 23, 2016, troops of 21 Brigade in conjunction with troops of MNJTF on clearance operations at Kumshe general area, rescued 250 persons, mainly women and children held hostages by Boko Haram terrorists and brought back 800 refugees from Cameroon. On February 23, 2016, troops of 7 Division rescued 150 persons at Kodo,” the statement read in part.
According to him, the troops of the 21 Brigade also intercepted 3,000 Nigerian refugees who were crossing from Wambatche, Liman and Kodo Fata villages in Cameroon into Nigeria.
He said that the soldiers had moved the refugees to Internally Displaced Persons camp at Bama on Friday.
