Nigerian Army said its troops of 81 Battalion and 251 Task Force Battalion deployed at an observation post in Boro State early on Wednesday intercepted 69 persons it claimed were members of families of Boko Haram adherents made up of seven men, 18 women, seven grown up boys and 37 children fleeing from Sambisa forest where the military is engaged in operations to flush out the insurgent group.
The Boko Haram family members, Nigerian Army said in a statement signed by Colonel Sani Usman, its spokesperson, were intercepted while approaching a military check point at Liwanti village along Damboa-Bulabulin road of the State.
“At the initial state of interrogation, they claimed to have escaped from Boko Haram terrorists’ captivity at Ngwalimari village in Sambisa forest general area. But further interrogation revealed otherwise.
“On preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the 69 of them were indeed family members of Boko Haram terrorists escaping from Sambisa. Out of that number, 7 of them are men, 18 women, 7 grown up boys and 37 children,” Usman said.
He added that the troops recovered 15 bicycles, 5 Dane Guns and other personal effects from them while further and thorough investigation is ongoing to ascertain other information from them.