The Nigerian Air Force says it has destroyed several Boko Haram terrorist camps located in northern Borno State, North-East Nigeria. This was contained in a statement signed by the Director, NAF Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa. The statement said the attack was carried out after surveillance intelligence report showed remnants of the terrorists in that location.

It said that intelligence report showed survivors of a previous attack in Kangarwa converging in the area.

The statement came on a day the BringBackOurGirls Group (BBOG) and a Federal Government delegation arrived in the North-East to witness efforts by the military to rescue the remaining abducted Chibok school girls.

Before they left the Abuja airport on Monday morning, there was a mild drama as the group insisted that the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, should board the same aircraft with the BBOG delegation.

The initial plan was for the BBOG delegation to be conveyed to Yola alongside some journalists while the Minister would join another aircraft.

But that was turned down at the airport tarmac by the BBOG delegation, which insisted that none of their members would board the flight if the Minister was not joining them.

After a series of dialogue, the Minister conceded to join other participants in the same flight.

The government delegation also included the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar.

The Commanding Officer, Air Vice Marshal Nurudeen Balogun, explained that over two billion naira was spent in 2016 to ensure a functional air component of the Operation Lafiya Dole.

Air Vice Marshall Balogun informed members of the BBOG group that efforts were on to find the remaining abducted Chibok schools girls and other persons, who were abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Aside from Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili , another member of BBOG, Hajia Aisha Yusuf, some Air Force Commanding Officers in the North East operation and selected reporters from local and foreign media participated in the exercise. The team was ferried in two Beechcraft 350 surveillance aircraft and departed the Yola Air Force Base at about 2.30 p.m.

A News Agency of Nigeria  correspondent, who was among the team, reports that the aircraft flying at about15,000 feet altitude entered the Sambisa general area, 35 minutes after departure.

The search sorties  in the forest, which lasted for over an hour, took the team to Camp Zairo,  hitherto the  stronghold of the Boko Haram, captured by the home troop on Dec.  22, as well as other key spots in the forest.

Sambisa forest is said to cover 60,000 square kilometres which is about 18 times the size of Lagos and 85 per cent of Borno State land surface.

With the aid of sophisticated inbuilt surveillance camera in the aircraft, the team was shown the video images  of burnt vehicles and camps of the Boko Haram insurgents particularly Camp Zairo.

The burnt areas according to the Commanding Officers were evidence of attacks carried out by air strike and ground troops of the military.

The images of the tracks of the insurgents as well as the locations of the ground troops of the military who have occupied the forest were also shown to the team.

The aircraft, thereafter, proceeded to Airforce Base Maiduguri, the headquarters of 105 Composite group for surveillance report and refuelling.

Upon arrival at Maiduguri Airforce Base at about 4.30 p.m. and after the surveillance briefing on the skeletal movement, an Alpha fighter jet flown by only a pilot unaccompanied was deployed into the forest.

The team later left Maiduguri for Yola . NAN reports that another search sorties by the team is billed for the midnight and would last till  morning.