Troops of the Nigerian Army with the support of the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole have killed 19 Boko Haram terrorists when the terrorists attempted to infiltrate troops of 25 Task Force Brigade (Army Super Camp 2) in their location in Damboa, Borno state. Media coordinator of the Nigerian Army Operations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu said in a statement that three soldiers were lost during the fierce battle with the terrorists, which began in the early hours of Wednesday, March 4, 2020. He said the terrorists mounted on gun trucks with a number of their foot soldiers attempting to infiltrate the troops’ location from three different fronts, but the “troops responded swiftly, bringing to bear superior fire power against the criminals.” “The encounter which lasted over an hour witnessed one of the most debilitating defeats of the Boko Haram criminals in a single encounter since the turn of the year,” Iliyasu said. He said five AK 47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun and one Rocket Propelled Gun were recovered after the battle, which lasted for an hour. Meanwhile,Gombe state governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has urged for synergy between the six states in the North-east sub-region, as a strategy to fight insurgency. Governor Yahaya stated this in Gombe on Thursday, during the inaugural meeting of the North-east governors consultative forum. He said the region was backward in the country, following the activities of the insurgents, which killed thousands of people and rendered so many homeless. “We need to take up the challenges, we are one people, poverty, hunger and agony have no eyes. “Our region has been affected by desert encroachment which is having a negative impact on our people. “In an effort to address all these problems here in Gombe we launched tree campaign tagged Gombe goes green. “We need to prevent the situation posing threat on our people, hence the need for concerted effort. The governor said there was a need for all the governors to monitor donor agencies and ensure that they provide the much-needed intervention to the people.
He said the establishment of the North East Development Commission was timely, urging them to coordinate their actions properly, to avoid the pit holes of Niger Delta Development Commission. “I am calling on the NEDC to execute projects with immediate impact on the public,” he said.