Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have arrested a Chinese national together with several suspected logistical suppliers and collaborators to a terrorist group in a series of deliberate and coordinated operations in Borno and Yobe States, the Defence Headquarters said on Thursday.
At a weekly media briefing in Abuja, Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye said the arrest took place between June 5 and 7 in Kukawa and Ngala Local Government Areas of Borno and Geidam LGA of Yobe State.
The suspected logistics suppliers or collaborators were arrested with their items of interest, which included a vehicle, motorcycle, mobile cellphones, Chinese International passport, and N10,000 in cash.
The military are also alleging that the arrested suspects were indeed involved in aiding and abetting terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) two of the groups that are known for the protracted insurgency in Nigeria’s Northeast.
“These arrests are in keeping with our unrelenting effort to take down terrorist support networks,”; said Gen. Kangye.
The arrests were part of a wider campaign of operations that went on between June 6 and 10 that targeted terrorist enclaves in Gwoza, Ngala, and Marte LGAs in Borno, and Bade and Gujba LGAs in Yobe. The Defence Headquarters confirmed that during the operations, troops neutralized multiple insurgents, rescued three kidnapped victims, and seized arms, ammunition, IEDs, vehicles, and motorcycles. Several terrorist camps and facilities were destroyed.
In a related development, Gen. Kangye mentioned that the continuing military pressure had forced numerous insurgents to surrender. From June 6 to 11, many of the terrorists (men, women, and children) surrendered their arms and called on Nigerian forces to take them.
Also, the Armed Forces of Nigeria reported further successes in the other environments; Operation Fasin Yamma in the North West, Operation Safe Haven in the North Central and Operation Delta Safe in the South South, continued to achieve successes in counter-terrorism, anti-banditry and anti-oil theft operations. All arrested suspects are in custody and are undergoing further investigations, Defence Headquarters said.
