The Nigerian military, on Thursday, handed over 277 women and children rescued from Boko Haram terrorists in three local government areas of Borno State to the State government.
Handing over the rescued captives, who comprised 128 women and 149 children to the State’s Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, the Theatre Commander of ‘Operation Hadin Kai’, Maj. Gen. Shuaibu Waidi, said the victims were rescued during the Military operations at Bama, Dikwa and Monguno local government areas of the state.
He said upon their arrival at the barracks, they were subjected to medical checkups to ascertain their medical condition before they were profiled.
The Theatre Commander, who was represented by the deputy Theatre Commander, Maj. Gen. Ken Chigbu, said, “These are people we found out that they were abducted against their will. For us, we considered them as brothers and sisters. And when we saw them in that deplorable condition, we rescued them out for civilisation.
“We thank all stakeholders who have ensured that our brothers and sisters are brought out from the bush. The mandate of the ‘Operation Hadin Kai Joint Taskforce North-East’ is to restore normalcy and socio-economic activities in the region. We have adopted kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to the operations, and what we are witnessing is the larger part of non-kinetic approach.”
He said the command has been in synergy with other components of the Joint Taskforce such as the Navy, Airforce and other security agencies in the operations, adding that what was witnessed was a display of professionalism, and a show that the joint taskforce was operating in adherence to the best practices.
He commended the Borno and Yobe State governments for their support to the Nigerian military in the execution of the war against insurgency.
In her remarks, the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Gambo, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Aisha Shettima, appreciated the effort of the Nigerian military in rescuing the victims.
She said the rescued victims would be taken to the state’s rehabilitation centre in Bulunkutu, where they would be given psychosocial support and other relevant activities before they would be reintegrated into the society.