Army discovers arms hidden in burnt church

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has discovered a cache of arms and ammunition hidden in the premises of a burnt church in Kalabalge Local Government Area of Borno.

This is contained in a statement signed by Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information and Coordinator, Joint Information Centre Counter Terrorism Campaign in Abuja on Friday.

Olukolade said the arrest of a terrorist, who claimed to be a Camerounian and an arms courier for the Boko Haram insurgents, led to the discovery of the weapons.

He said that the weapons, which had been recovered by Nigerian troops, included Anti- aircraft guns, rocket propelled guns as well as General Purpose and other brands of machine guns.

He said the weapons were buried in the premises of the church which had earlier been burnt by the terrorists.

"Also recovered from the location where thousands of various calibres of rounds ofammunition.

"The middle-aged man, who the led troops on the cordon and search operation that led to the recovery of the weapons, was one of the terrorists captured in recent raids.

"The man also disclosed that the weapons were stockpiled to be used in a pending attack on some communities around Nigeria-Cameroun border," he said

Olukolade said the weapons had been evacuated while guard locations and patrols were being maintained in the area and the surrounding localities.

He said that the caves in a mountain captured by the troops were being search for terrorists.

He said the terrorists fled to the caves in the wake of ongoing offensive on their enclaves.

Olukolade said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minima, had been monitoring the deployment and disposition of troops in various locations of the theatre of the counter terrorist campaigns in Adamawa, Borno  and Yobe.

"The Army Chief, who is in company of his Air Force counterpart, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, also visited troops who were wounded in the course of the operation.

"The chiefs were assured by the Commander of the Hospital, Brig.-Gen. Okeke Ikechukwu, that most of the wounded soldiers in Military Hospital in Maiduguri are in stable condition," he said.

"The Army Chief directed that the hospital should not hesitate to let him know the requirements for any case requiring referral or further treatment for the wounded soldiers," he said.