Nigerian Army has arrested about 963 persons suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists during an operation between Jan. 4 and Jan.9.

Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.- Gen. Lucky Irabor, said this at the weekly review of the Operation Rescue Final at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri.

Irabor said, “On Jan. 3 at about 1240hrs, 4 women and 13 children were apprehended by vigilantes at Buni Yadi and were later handed over to our troops.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the women were wives of Boko Haram terrorists who fled from Sambisa forest as a result of our operations. All suspects are in our custody undergoing investigation.

He said also on Jan. 5, at about 1030hrs, following a tip-off, troops and the Civilian Joint Task Force arrested four Boko Haram suspects at Shuwari village.

The suspects are: Modu Auwami, Mamye Modu, Usman Kachanawa and Mallum Maji.

During preliminary investigation, some local witnesses identified Auwami as one who provided medical treatment to injured terrorists.

The other three suspects claimed they were abducted by the terrorists and that they only spent few days in their camps.

He said the suspects were now in the Army’s custody undergoing further interrogation.

Irabor said the suspects who all confessed to be members of the Boko Haram terror group, claimed to have come to town to buy Tramadol tablets.

He added they were arrested with 27 sachets of Tramadol tablets, three sachets of Cowbel chocolate and the sum of N5,000.

Irabor also said on Jan. 5 at about 1130hrs, 119 Nigerian IDPs were handed over to Nigerian troops at Banki by the Cameroonian forces.

Meanwhile, Nigerian Army has recovered corpses of “one officer and 15 soldiers’’ earlier declared “Missing in Action” during an operation to dislodge the Boko Haram insurgents from Gashigar Area in Borno on Oct. 16, 2016.