By Emma Njoku
SIXTY-NINE suspected family members of Boko Haram terrorists were intercepted by Nigerian troops in the early hours of yesterday while attempting to escape from Sambisa in Borno State.
Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, who confirmed this in a statement said the intercepted escapees included seven men, 18 women, seven grown up boys and 37 children.
“Today (yesterday), 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,” the statement read.
Usman said upon initial interrogation, they claimed to have escaped from Boko Haram terrorists captivity at Ngwalimari village in Sambisa forest general area, but further interrogation revealed otherwise.