A member of a group of armed men arrested by the Nigerian Joint Task Force on counter-terrorism mission in Wukari, Taraba State, has confessed to being a member of a terrorist group.
A statement by the spokesman for the force, Major General Chris Olukolade, said that the suspected terrorists operating under the guise of herdsmen from a camp in the outskirt of Wukari were arrested after an attack on a military check point at Gindin Dorowa, a suburb of Wukari.
According to the statement, some members of the group died while others that escaped were later sighted in the course of air surveillance and trailed to their camp where they engaged the troops in a battle.
“The terrorists were clad in the usual pattern of dress of their counterparts operating in Borno and Yobe States.
“One of the apprehended armed men confessed that he had been fighting for the terrorist group in Borno State and was recently brought to Wukari area in furtherance of their mission,” the statement read.
Assorted arms and ammunition were recovered from them.
Major General Olukolade said that “the curfew imposed on Wukari and its environs is expected to be relaxed as normalcy returns to the town”.
Troops have maintained patrol of the area while a house-to-house search for arms is ongoing.
In another development, troops on patrol of the Lake Chad Islands have made some arrests.
Among those arrested was a boat operator who ferries terrorists across the Lake Chad while another confessed to being a supplier of hard drugs to the terrorist groups in the area.
He said search for the abducted students of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok is also being intensified.
Over 200 girls were abducted on April 14 by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.
At least 30 of the girls escaped from their abductors days after they were taken away by the men in Hilux vehicles.