Troops recapture Gwoza, Caliphate HQ from Boko Haram

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, has said that troops of the Nigerian Army have captured Gwoza, the headquarters of the Islamic Caliphate declared by Boko Haram insurgents in North-Eastern Nigeria.

Olukolade said in a press statement in Abuja, that the city fell to a joint operation carried out by the ground forces and the fighter pilots of the Nigerian Air Force on Friday morning.

Several ground forces were deployed from Madagali in Adamawa State and Bama in Borno for the crucial operation to reclaim Gwoza which the insurgents had captured and renamed Darul Ikima, last year.

Olukolade said the troops had earlier sacked the terrorists from several communities around Gwoza before the final onslaught on the town reputed to be the strongest Boko Haram enclave in the country.

According to him, the troops killed several of the insurgents and captured many others.

The Defence Spokesman said the troops also seized several arms and ammunition from the insurgents.

He said the military had liberated all communities erstwhile occupied by the insurgents as of Thursday when the battle to reclaim Gwoza was raging.

He said, “Just this morning, the gallant troops of the Nigerian military in a concerted and well-coordinated land and air operations have liberated Gwoza, the headquarters of their so-called caliphate which they renamed Darul Ikima.

“This was preceded by successive sack of terrorists from towns and villages leading to Gwoza, the main objective. Several of the terrorists have died and many of them captured in the process. A lot of arms and ammunition have been recovered and the administrative headquarters completely destroyed.

“Massive searching has commenced to locate any of the fleeing terrorists or hostages in their custody.”

He said that the military observed that some of the fleeing terrorists were heading to the borders where they might encounter troops of the Multi National Joint Task Force, who are under instruction to contain them.

He restated the commitment of the military to ensure that terrorism and insurgency were flushed out of the country.

He urged Nigerians to report suspicious movements to security operatives, stressing that the military and security agencies would never again allow ‘the evil elements to regroup, terrorise and cause mayhem in our country.’