- Recovered from the suspect were an AK-47 rifle, a magazine with 11 rounds of ammunition, a mobile phone, an Airtel SIM card, and 32,500 naira in cash
A senior Boko Haram figure, Bochu Abacha, has surrendered to troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.
The MNJTF said Abacha turned himself in to soldiers in Kukawa Local Government Area, marking a significant boost in its efforts to combat terrorism in the Lake Chad region.
According to a statement by Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba, the MNJTF’s Chief Military Information Officer, Abacha admitted his role in multiple attacks carried out by Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), along the Monguno-Baga axis. He said he escaped from a Boko Haram camp in Mussaram due to intensified MNJTF operations and his waning interest in the group’s activities.
Recovered from the suspect were an AK-47 rifle, a magazine with 11 rounds of ammunition, a mobile phone, an Airtel SIM card, and 32,500 naira in cash.
The MNJTF stated that Abacha is currently providing valuable intelligence to authorities.
In a separate operation, MNJTF troops in Gubio, working with intelligence operatives, ambushed a group of Boko Haram fighters transporting logistics in three Toyota vehicles under the cover of darkness. One militant was killed, while others fled into the surrounding forest.
The soldiers seized the vehicles, which were loaded with food supplies and other items, along with 2,000 naira in cash.
The MNJTF is a coalition force drawn from Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, tasked with fighting Boko Haram and other extremist groups in the region.