Nigerian troops clear Boko Haram from northeast state of Adamawa

Nigerian troops has cleared members of Boko Haram out of Madagali, the last town held by the terrorists in restive northeast state of Adamawa, an official said on Thursday.

In a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, the nation's economic hub, spokesperson for the Nigerian Defense Authority Chris Olukolade, who had been on a tour of the northeast region, said there were no casualties on the side of the Nigerian forces, which included the army, air force and other security agencies.

He said mopping up was ongoing, and that more details would be provided by the Defense Headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Campaign Organization of All Progressives Congress (APC), has applauded the armed forces recent victories in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists.

The party's spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said the achievement was commendable, noting that nobody could pretend to be ignorant of the huge progress that the military had made in the counter- insurgency war in the north eastern part of the country.

"The armed forces, in collaboration with a multinational force made up of armies of neighboring African countries, have recorded a number of significant victories in the fight against Boko Haram, " he added.

"About 36 territories formerly in control of the insurgents have been taken back over the past few weeks. This is commendable. We congratulate our armed forces," he said.

Shehu wondered why it took the Federal Government this long to apply the current level of force against the insurgents.

He said the government left the issue to fester for too long, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of lives and displacement of thousands of persons in the northeast. Endi