The Nigerian Army claimed on Thursday a fresh set of 18 terrorists had surrendered to troops in the North East.
The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.
The latest development came just 72 hours after 19 jihadists surrendered to troops in Borno State.
Nwachukwu said the Boko Haram had suffered serious a setback and recorded several casualties from the troops of Operation Hadin Kai’s sustained air and artillery bombardments on its enclaves in Sambisa forest and its environs.
According to him, the insurgents surrendered to troops with their families in Chingori and other surrounding villages around Sambisa forest on Wednesday.
“The spokesman said: The families comprised 18 women and 19 children. The arms recovered from the terrorists include five AK47 rifles, one foreign AK47 rifle with a telescopic sight, one Fabrique Nationale rifle, and eight AK-47 rifle magazines.
“Other items include one FN rifle magazine, one bandolier, three rounds of 7.62mm (special) ammunition and the sum of N7,700.
“Similarly, a Boko Haram fighter from Abuja Asamau Village in Sambisa Forest also surrendered to troops with his AK 47 rifle, two magazines, one magazine holder, one round of 7.62mm special and the sum of N5,000.”
He said over 100 terrorists and their families had succumbed to troops’ offensive and dropped their arms in less than two weeks in the North-East.