The Nigerian Army has announced the arrest of one of the terrorists who fled Sambisa Forest and escaped to Lagos.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the suspected Boko Haram member was arrested last Thursday in the Ikorodu area of the state.
Buratai also said the forest would be turned into a military base in 2017.
The army chief said this on Monday during his visit to the troops of 145 Battalion in Damasak, Borno State, to mark the reopening of the Maiduguri-Gubio-Damasak Road.
Buratai had on Sunday joined the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, to reopen the Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga and Maiduguri-Gubio-Damasak roads which had been closed since 2013 due to Boko Haram violence.
“I urge you not to relent until all the terrorists, who had fought Nigeria since 2009, are arrested. We must maintain the momentum of the operation. We must pursue the terrorists wherever they are. We must never allow them to regroup.
“For instance, a Boko Haram member was arrested in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State on Thursday. Despite the takeover of the terrorists’ Camp Zero in the Sambisa Forest, we have no time to waste. The seven-year fight against the Boko Haram terrorists was quite sober, and a number of officers lost their lives in the war. I pray for the repose of their souls. We vow to fight the remnants’ of the terrorists,” he said.
Meanwhile, troops under Operation Lafiya Dole, on Monday took over 3,000 Internally Displaced Persons and refugees back to their deserted houses in Damasak town in Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.
The IDPs and refugees, who were received by a combined team of religious leaders, vigilance group members and the local government officials, had for about three years fled the area due to Boko Haram activities.
