Nation
Again, Six Terrorists Surrender To Troops In Borno
The gale of surrendering by Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists, following the heat on their hideouts by sustained air and ground assaults by troops of Operation Hadin Kai continued in the North-East, yesterday, as another six terrorists gave themselves up to troops in Borno State.
Sources said that the terrorists, sensing that troops working in tandem with the new operational order by the Military High Command to upscale the offensive on all terrorists’ enclaves, surrendered themselves to troops of 134 Special Forces Battalion in Konduga.
The source, who noted that several weapons were recovered from the terrorists, including AK-47 rifle, General Purpose Machine gun and some locally fabricated dane guns.
It would be recalled that, last Wednesday, scores of Boko Haram terrorists (BHTs) and elements of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and their families, who hitherto hibernated around the fringes of Sambisa forest, surrendered.
A statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, said the terrorists, comprising 19 male fighters, 19 adult female and 49 children, came out from some enclaves in Njimia village and environs as they “yielded to troops’ heavy artillery and air bombardments and surrendered to the troops.
They surrendered at Forward Operational Base (FOB),Banki Junction, and BOCOBS in Bama, Borno State on August 2, 20213 .
Nwachukwu said: “The terrorists who also surrendered several assorted weapons and incendiaries lamented that the ground and condition in the forest have become untenable, hence their surrendering.
“The fire arms and incendiaries recovered from the terrorists include, eight AK-47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), twoFabriqueNationale (FN) Rifles, one Dane gun, one Makarov Pistol, 89 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition, 89 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, 66 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 5 x 9mm rounds of ammunition, twohand grenades, 27 AK-47 rifle magazines and two FN rifle magazines.
“Others are one pistol magazine, one x 60mm Mortar Bomb, 10 x14.5mm empty cases, two primed suicide vests, 72 trigger switches, 10 primed Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), five Electric Detonating Chords, six packs of Water Gel Explosives, six Mobile Phones, one Camel Pack, oneCammoulage bag, twohard drives, oneplier, twounserviceable hand held radios, twoscissors, and needles, two Match boxes and the sum of N55,000:00 only”.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
