The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division in Lagos on Thursday said it has arrested 37 Boko Haram suspects in the past 15 months in Lagos area.
Nigerian Army GOC during the hand-over ceremony (Photo: The Nation)
Speaking to news reporters in Lagos during a hand-over ceremony on Thursday, the outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Isidore Edet, disclosed that the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, arrested 37 suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Lagos and Ogun States within the last 15 months.
Edet who handed over to his successor, Maj.-Gen. Ebenezer Oyefolu, after he was redeployed as Commander, Infantry Corps, Jaji in Kaduna, said the Division, under his watch, arrested the terrorists in different parts of the two states.
He said: “As Boko Haram is being defeated in the northeast, the terrorists run to other parts of the country. We ensure they are arrested irrespective of where they run to.
"Lagos is not an exception, we have continued to arrest them and hand them over to the necessary agency. We have arrested over 37 of them from August last year when I took over to this month.
“My most challenging moment here was when three of my intelligence operators on surveillance at Ijedodo were abducted by the militants and I had to work round the clock to ensure their rescue.
“Tackling the challenges posed by the militants wasn’t so challenging because we had to work cooperatively and collaboratively to rout the vandals in Arepo axis. For the Festac axis, the work is still on.
“Commanding 81 Division for me, was an honour. It is the dream of every Infantry officer to rise to command a division. It was an honour I didn’t take for granted. So, I would miss the cooperation and good working relations I had with my personnel.”
In his remark, the new GOC, Maj.-Gen. Oyefolu, said he would key into the successes of his predecessor to move the Division forward.
Until his appointment as GOC 81 Division, Oyefolu was the Deputy Director at Defence Intelligence Agency, Abuja.