The acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel S.K. Usman, claimed that the Nigerian army killed 5 Boko Haram terrorists and rescued 210 civilians held captive by the terrorist group on Wednesday.
The rescue of the 210 civilians was the result of Nigerian troops responding to a tip that Boko Haram was holding hostage the inhabitants of the villages of Ejilije, Bulagaije-lari, Bulagaije-Adamde, and Ajiri.
According to military sources, the Boko Haram terrorists fled these villages once they learned the Nigerian military was advancing upon them.
Many of the freed citizens were women, children, and the elderly and were subsequently moved to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps. According to Colonel Usman, Boko Haram intended to use the civilians as “human shields” in the event of a military offensive against them.
The two operations resulted in the capture of 1 Machine Gun barrel, 4 loaded magazines of G3 rifles, 4 Dane guns, an unknown quantity of 7.62mm ammunition, empty canisters of Mortar bombs, a bandolier, and 4 AK-47 rifles.
