- Dikwa local government area of Borno state, overthrown by Boko Haram in 2014, has now been declared safe by the Nigerian army
- The army assured the people who have just returned to the local government that their security is guaranteed
- It urged them to tell others who are still outside to return home as the local government is now safe and secure
Brigade commander of 22 Army Brigade in Dikwa, Borno state, Brigadier General John Ochai, has assured returnee residents of Dikwa local government area that the place is now safe and secure and urged them to tell others to return home.
Ochai gave the assurance while addressing a group of returnee residents who paid him a visit, Nigerian Tribune reports.
He stated that Dikwa was safe and urged the people to bring down their families and start their business all over again.
NAIJ.com gathered that Dikwa is one of the local governments captured by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014 sending thousands of innocent people into homelessness during the period.
Some people fled to internally displaced camps in Bama and Maiduguri while many others not from this state went back to their ancestral state of origin.
Many who could not flee were killed before the town was eventually recaptured late 2015 in a strategic mission accomplished by the Nigerian army and Air Force operating under the banner of Lafiya Dole.
Brigade spokesman, Lt Yemi Sokoya, in a statement said the group commended the Nigerian military for restoring peace to Dikwa Emirate
He said that many people have returned home from all across the country; especially from the southwest and south-south region of Nigeria.
Receiving some of the returnees on Monday, February 5, Ochai said: “This is a testament that peace has come to stay in Dikwa and its environs; our commitment to protect you from all forms of aggression is absolute.
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“We have orders from our government to protect you, orders that are consistent with our national protocols.
Protecting you and your properties is our main priority. Tell those still living abroad to return home.”
NAIJ.com previously reported that the Nigerian army declared on Saturday, February 3, that it had completely defeated the Boko Haram insurgents.
The theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj-Gen Rogers Nicholas, stated this during the inauguration of the Nigeria-Cameroun Military Joint Mission in Maiduguri.
Nicholas said that his troops dislodged and occupied the insurgents’ tactical ground, ‘Camp Zairo’.
He noted that hundreds of insurgents surrendered and several others fled their enclave, while over 100 civilians were rescued.
He stated that the troops have captured Sambisa forest and other hearts of Boko Haram’s operation grounds.
Survivors of Boko Haram - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng