The Nigerian Army says the intensity of fire by troops of Operation Hadin Kai, has forced more Boko Haram/Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists to surrender in the North East.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
On the other side of the border, authorities in Cameroon also say there are seeing an increase in the number of Boko Haram militants surrendering at a disarmament center on the northern border with Nigeria. Officials say there have been hundreds of defections from the terrorist group since May, when Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Islamist group, was declared killed.
Cameroonian authorities said they are overwhelmed by the number of militants fleeing the extremist group Boko Haram. The National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, or the DDR, a center set up by the government, hosts about 750 former militants in Meri, a town on the northern border with Nigeria.
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Cameroon’s military said the militants handed themselves to troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Basin that is fighting the jihadist group. The task force is made up of troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. A majority of the militants surrendered around Nigeria's Sambisa Forest.
Nwachukwu said the terrorists, who surrendered with their families, had hitherto hibernated around the fringes of Sambisa forest area of Borno before yielding to troops’ heavy artillery and air bombardments on Aug. 2.
He said the surrendered terrorists comprised 19 male fighters, 19 adult females and 49 children from Njimia village and environs.
According to him, the terrorists who also surrendered several assorted weapons and incendiaries, lamented that the condition in the forest have become untenable, hence their surrendering.
Nwachukwu said the firearms and incendiaries recovered from the terrorists included, eight AA47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) two Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifles and one Dane gun.
He added that one Makarov pistol, 89 rounds of 7.62mm (special) ammunition, 89 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, 66 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, five 9mm rounds of ammunition, two hand grenades, 27 AK47 rifle magazines and two FN rifle magazines were also recovered.
Also recovered, according to him are one pistol magazine, one 60mm mortar bomb, 10 14.5mm empty cases, two primed suicide vests, 72 trigger switches, 10 primed Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and five electric detonating chords.
It also included six packs of water gel explosives, six mobile phones, one camouflage bag, two hard drives and N55,000 among others.
“The terrorists and their families are currently undergoing comprehensive security profiling and preliminary investigations, while the children have been administered the oral polio vaccines,”he added.
Meanwhile, Nwachukwu said that
the Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, has commended the troops for the sustained offensive and clearance operations conducted in the theatre.
He, however, charged them to maintain the momentum.
