The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has revealed the arrest of a Boko Haram terrorist in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
Buratai said the terrorist, one of those fleeing from the hitherto Boko Haram stronghold of Sambisa Forest, was arrested on Saturday.
Buratai made the revelation in a remark before Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno cut the tape to re-open two major roads in the state that were closed since 2014 at the height of the atrocities of the insurgents.
The roads are Maiduguri-Gubio-Damasak and Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga. They were opened in the wake of the declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari that the terrorists had been flushed out of Sambisa Forest.
Buratai charged the troops not to relent until all the terrorists who had waged a war against Nigeria since 2009 are arrested.
“You must maintain the momentum of the operation. We must pursue the terrorists wherever they are. We must not allow them to regroup,” the army chief said.
The chief of army staff described the seven-year fight against the Boko Haram terrorists as “quite sober and touchy”, saying that a number of officers and soldiers had lost their lives in the war.
He prayed for the repose of their souls and vowed that the army would recommit itself to the fight until “remnants’’ of the terrorists were cleared.
The State Governor, Kashim Shettima,said there was no Christmas and New Year gift to the people of Borno State better than the fall of the Sambisa forest.
He described year 2016 as one that witnessed a major breakthrough in the ongoing fight against the terrorists, adding that the year was so far his best in the last five years since he assumed office on May 29, 2011.
“Since I became the Governor of Borno State in over five years, this is the best Christmas season I have witnessed. This is the best December I have witnessed and the year 2016 is my best year so far as Governor of Borno State,” he said.
