After the retake of Gwoza in Nigeria’s north-east state of Borno, the military says it has put strategies in place to ensure that fleeing terrorists do not sneak into neighbouring communities un-noticed.
The spokesman for the military, Major General Chris Olukolade, told Channels Television on Friday that the troops in Gwoza were combing the community and surroundings to arrest terrorists that may be hiding within the area.
“The retake of Gwoza by troops on Friday morning is the climax of series of operational activities of the troops on ground and the Air Force in the north-east.
“Gwoza was stormed from every direction.
“At the moment, we are mopping up the town and the surrounding with a view to arresting any terrorist that is still within the area,” he said.
Screen Everyone Found
On the strategy that the military had put in place to ensure that the fleeing terrorists do not mix with residents of the neighbouring communities, Major General Olukolade said that the renewed counter-terrorism operation was holistic and would take care of such issues.
“We are in contact with colleagues in the neighbouring countries and the Multi-National Joint Task Force has been alerted to monitor the border for terrorists.
“The cordon and search is covering the neighbourhood. We will screen everyone we find to determine their status. Anyone found would be made to answer some questions.
“The terrorists fleeing to the border area will be tackled by the troops of the joint task force.
“The porosity of the border will be addressed by the joint operations,” he said.
According to him, weapons taken from the terrorists would be assessed by experts to understand or trace their origin.
He also stressed that finding the sponsors of the terrorists was a task within the purview of the intelligence unit of the operation.
“Anyone found culpable will be handed over to be tried. Once profiled, further actions would be taken against them,” Major General Olukode said.
The military spokesman also expressed confidence that the society was sufficiently mobilised now, with everybody on the lookout for the terrorists. “Any of them who sneaks into any community will surely be identified.”
On the sustenance of the joint task force’s efforts against terrorists’ activities in the West African region, Major General Olukolade said political authorities would determine if there would be a structure that would constantly check the activities of terrorists in the region.
Chibok Girls Rescue
Despite the renewed counter-terrorism efforts, some over 200 girls that were abducted on April 14, 2014 by terrorists from their school’s dormitory in Chibok have not been rescued.
The spokesman for the military did not give any assurance that the girls would be rescued soon, but expressed optimism that hostages, who may have been held by the terrorists, would be rescued in the course of the operation.
“When we conclude mopping up we will be able to ascertain if the Chibok girls will be among the hostages held in the area,” he said.
