Troops have intercepted some family members of the Boko Haram insurgents escaping from the Sambisa forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.
The capture was disclosed on Wednesday in a statement by the acting Director, Public Relations of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Sani Usman.
“Today, in the early hours, troops of 81 Battalion and 251 Task Force Battalion deployed at an Observation Post sighted a group of persons approaching its Check Point at Liwanti village along Damboa-Bulabulin road, Borno State.
“On arrival, they were received and treated humanely based on International Humanitarian Laws and Rules of Engagement.
“On preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the 69 of them were indeed family members of Boko Haram terrorists escaping from Sambisa. Out of that number, seven of them are men, 18 women, seven grown up boys and 37 children,” the statement read.
At the initial state of interrogation, Colonel Usman said they claimed to have escaped from Boko Haram terrorists’ captivity at Ngwalimari village in Sambisa forest general area, but stated that further interrogation revealed otherwise.
The troops recovered 15 bicycles, five Dane Guns and other personal effects from the alleged insurgents’ relatives.
The Army spokesman said further and thorough investigation was ongoing to ascertain other information from them.
