MAIDUGURI/Nigeria: Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), have arrested a 15-year-old boy who allegedly participated in the deadly attack that claimed the life of a senior army commander and three other personnel in Borno State.
The suspect, identified simply as Tijjani, was apprehended on Sunday while reportedly on an errand to procure food supplies for members of his group, in what security sources described as a breakthrough in ongoing operations against insurgents in the North-East.
The arrest follows the killing of Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, Commander of the 29 Task Force Brigade under OPHK, alongside one officer and two soldiers during a coordinated attack on a military base last Thursday by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
In a video obtained following his arrest, Tijjani, who spoke in Hausa, admitted involvement in the attacks carried out in Benisheik and Ngamdu areas of Borno State.
According to him, the group operated from Jilli, from where they mobilised for the assault before retreating to the same location after the operation.
“Before the attack, we came from Jilli and returned there after the attack,” he said.
The teenage suspect further disclosed that he was sent from Jilli with the sum of N850,000 to procure logistics from Ngamdu when he was intercepted by troops.
“I was sent from Jilli yesterday with N850,000 to collect some logistics from Ngamdu, but I was arrested by troops,” he stated.
He added that he had left other members of the group at their base in Jilli prior to his arrest and was unaware of their current situation.
“Yesterday (Saturday), I left other fighters, my colleagues, at Jilli. I don’t know what happened to them there,” he said.
Security sources say the arrest could provide valuable intelligence in tracking the movements and operational structure of insurgent groups operating in the region.
The military has continued to intensify counter-insurgency operations across the North-East, with renewed focus on dismantling logistics networks and apprehending key collaborators linked to terrorist activities.
Source: https://theeagleonline.com.ng
