Nigerian military arrests 120 suspected insurgents during burial of Boko Haram commander

The military said it is winning the war against the insurgents.

The Defence Headquarters said in Abuja on Monday that 120 suspected terrorists were arrested in Maiduguri during the burial of one of their commanders on Sunday.

In a statement, the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, said the commander died in an encounter with Special Forces the previous day.

The statement said the insurgents, who were arrested by the Joint Task Force, had been detained and were being interrogated. It said the Special Forces have now secured New Marte, Hausari, Krenoa, Wulgo and ChikunNgulalo after destroying all the terrorists’ camps in Borno.

“The troops are already interacting with locals and citizens, assuring them of their safety and freedom from the activities of insurgents.

“Terrorists fleeing towards Chad and Niger Republic are being contained as they have had encounter with Multi-National Joint Task Force in various locations towards the border, ” it said.

The statement said advancing troops also observed a few shallow graves believed to be those of hurriedly buried members of the terrorist group.

It said the Defence Headquarters had observed the use of photographs purportedly taken in the areas covered by the operations and wished to say that the photographs were questionable.

It said that the photographs did not reflect any related reality of the social or geographical environment.

“This also makes the story they claim to depict of Nigerians fleeing to Niger Republic and other countries doubtful.

“The media is advised to always strive to associate stories with accurate pictures in order to avoid misleading the public,” the statement said.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Nasarawa on Tuesday last week, significantly increasing military presence in the affected states.