Army arrest 37 Boko Haram suspects in 15 months in Lagos, Ogun

By OKOSUN DENNIS

The 81 Division of the Nigerian Army on Thursday said it arrested 37 Boko Haram terrorists in the last 15 months in Lagos and Ogun states respectively.

The out-gone General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Maj Gen. Isidore Edet, disclosed this in Lagos during the handing over to his successor, Maj Gen. Ebenezer Oyefolu.

Edet said the Division, under his watch, arrested the terrorists in different parts of the two states noting that the arrest of insurgents was not peculiar to the two states.

He explained, “As Boko Haram is being defeated, the terrorists run to other parts of the country.

“From the period I took over in August 2015 till date, we have arrested 37 Boko Haram suspects.

“We will continue to arrest them and hand them over to the appropriate authorities,’’ he said.

On his most challenging moment as the GOC, Gen Edet who is now the Corps Commander, Infantry Corps in Jaji said it was during the abduction of three of his intelligence operatives by militants in Ijedodo in Ijagemo Area of Lagos.

“I had to work round-the-clock to secure their release,’’ he said.

On pipeline vandals at Arepo area of Ikorodu, the outgone GOC said the Army worked “collaboratively and cooperatively with other security agencies to rout the vandals from the area.”

In his remark, the new GOC, Maj Gen. Oyefolu, said he would key into the successes of his predecessor to move the Division forward.

The handing over witnessed the decoration of the new GOC with the division’s insignia – badge and shoulder flash, the quarter guard ceremony and the signing of handover notes.

Until his appointment as the GOC 81 Division, Oyefolu was the Deputy Director at Defence Intelligence Agency, Abuja.