Boko Haram Converts Vegetable Oil to Fuel

•As military kills 27 terrorists, rescues 172 hostages
•2 vigilantes lose their lives

By Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The remnants of Boko Haram terrorists, who are cornered by the Nigerian troops in some enclaves in Borno State, have in a sign of desperation and survival instinct found an innovative way of converting vegetable oil to fuel.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Friday that the troops of 7 Division made the discovery in continuation of their clearance operations of the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists,.

Usman said the military were also able to carry out clearance operations, raids and patrols that resulted in the killing of many suspected Boko Haram terrorists, arrests and rescue of persons, as well as recovery of arms and ammunitions.

He said: “The troops of 7 Division Special Fighting Forces attached to 25 Task Force Brigade Damboa, at a checkpoint, arrested a suspected Boko Haram terrorist,  Abubakar Bello, and six other suspects carrying 28 gallons of “Turkey” brand of vegetable oil,  eight bags of flour, 130 crates of soft drinks and two bags of sugar.

“In addition, five mobile telephone handsets, external hard drive and five flash drives, two national identity cards and the sum of Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000.00k) only were recovered from him. Preliminary investigation discovered that the terrorists now dilute the vegetable oil with other substances to produce diesel to power their generators.”

In a related development, Usman said that the troops of 254 Task Force Battalion in conjunction with vigilantes and Borno Youths Empowerment Scheme (BOYES), also carried out clearance operations at  Mufurundi, Kaleri, Masemari, Bego, Bale, Gadzama and Gagantilo villages along Damboa-Bale-Gwoza road.

He also said that one Ibrahim Bute aged 67 years, of Gobara village was arrested by the troops on suspicion of being a Boko Haram kingpin.

In the same vein, Usman said that the troops of 114 Task Force Battalion of 28 Task Force  Brigade also conducted a fighting patrol along Bitta-Madube-Izge axis same day.

“The troops of 117 Task Force Battalion following a tip off, also arrested a suspected Boko Haram terrorist who gave his name as Bello Isah at Mugulvu village. The unit also discovered and retrieved 29  rounds of 7.62mm (Special) rounds of ammunition hidden at a farm in Gella village.

“The troops in various deployments within the theatre remain vigilant with soaring morale and committed to their duties of clearing the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists hiding in various remote corners and crannies,” he added.