20 Soldiers Killed As Troops Reclaim Michika, Kill 300 Boko Haram Insurgents

At the end of a  fierce battle between Boko Haram insurgents and Nigerian troops who have been intensifying efforts to reclaim territories captured by the insurgents in northern Adamawa , over 300 insurgents were killed and troops force the terrorists to out of Michika town reports Odogwu Media.

The war claimed the lives of not less than 20 soldiers but that did not deter the soldiers who continued pressing on to defend their father land.

Michika town had been under their bloody grip for close to a month even as  President Goodluck Jonathan and his counterparts from Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic are to review ongoing collaboration against terrorism and agree on further joint action to curb terrorism and insurgency within and across their national boundaries.

The leaders are to take the decision at an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, holding today in Niamey, Niger.

Jonathan and the affected heads of state and government had resolved at a meeting in Paris, France, in May this year, to intensify joint efforts to curtail terrorism and violent extremism.

The insurgents were pushing forward to take over the home town of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, when they were repelled by the Nigerian troops although the troops were now pushing forward to recapture Michika and other villages taken over by Boko Haram.

Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, confirmed that serious operation was going on in Adamawa.

Jonathan Heads To Niger In Search Of Solution

President Goodluck Jonathan will today leave Abuja for Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic, on a one-day official visit to participate in an extraordinary summit of heads of states and governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, Jonathan and other participating heads of states and governments are expected to review ongoing collaboration against terrorism and agree on further joint actions to curb terrorism and insurgency within and across their national boundaries.

Abati recalled that the president and the heads of states and governments of the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic had resolved at a meeting in Paris in May this year to intensify joint efforts to curtail terrorism and violent extremism.

“At the Paris Summit hosted by President Francois Hollande of France in the aftermath of the dastardly abduction of the Chibok College girls,   President Jonathan and neighbouring heads of states and governments also agreed to establish joint anti-terrorism patrols and a system of sharing intelligence to support operations against terrorists and other cross-border criminals,” he noted.

Abati noted that Benin Republic, which participated in the Paris Summit but is not a member of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, had been invited to the Niamey talks.

“President Jonathan who will be accompanied to Niamey by the minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Aminu Wali, the minister of State for Defence Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Alex Barde and other senior government officials will return to Abuja at the conclusion of the one-day summit,” he added.

The Lake Chad Basin Commission was established in 1964 by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon with the mandate of sustainably and equitably managing   shared water resources of the Lake Chad Basin and promoting regional integration, peace and security across the Basin.