JUST IN: 98 Chibok girls still in captivity, says Military

No fewer than 98 students of Government Girls’ Secondary School Chibok of Borno State out of the 276 abducted by Boko Haram terrorists on April 14, 2014, are still in captivity.

The head of the Intelligence Unit of the Joint Military Taskforce in the North East Operation Hadinkai, Colonel Obinna Ezuipke, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at its headquarters, Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri.

Ezuipke said, “Out of the 276 abducted Chibok girls, 57 girls escaped in 2014 while 107 girls were released in 2018. Three girls were recovered in 2019, two in 2021 and 9 were rescued in 2022, bringing the total of 178 girls out of captivity and 98 remaining in Boko Haram captivity.”

Giving the statistics on the activities of the troops of Operation Hadinkai in August 2022, Colonel Ezuipke disclosed that a total of 43 terrorists were neutralized, while 24 others were arrested by the troops in August alone, apart from the over 100 killed in September 2022, as well as recovery of various weapons, including 129 AK-47 rifles, 1,515 rounds of ammunitions, 16 FN Rifles, 3 MG, 17 grenades, among others, during the operations.

Ezuipke revealed that the military recorded 26 attacks from the terrorists, and in the process, two soldiers were killed and 9 others sustained various degrees of injury.

He added that the military carried out a total of 2726 patrols and 982 ambushes against the terrorists.

He further revealed that from June 2022 till date, a total of 113 people who are suppliers of food, fertiliser and other logistics to the terrorists were arrested, noting that the troops had also rescued many women and children, as well as destroyed properties and hideouts of the terrorists.