Nigeria discovers Boko Haram terrorists supply routes

Nigerian troops on Wednesday said it has intercepted over 4,000 drums and cans of petroleum products and other smuggled items used by suspected Boko Haram terrorists along the Cameroon borders.

Spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Commodore Dele Alonge said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, the country's business hub, that the discovery was through its intensified and persistent efforts in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram.

He said the items, suspected to be supplies meant for terrorists were confiscated from the smugglers in Pepe, Dashin-Hausa, Belel Bilachi, and Konkul villages located along the Nigeria-Cameroon borders on Tuesday.

Alonge said the air force was able to achieve the recent feat through its air patrol activities, covering both land and water, along the Nigeria-Cameroon boarders.

According to him, the air force would continued to identify and destroy Boko Haram camps and resupplies by employing surveillance and combat aircraft. Intelligence gathered revealed that these efforts have greatly strained the supply efforts of the terrorists, he added.

The air force discovery came barely 24 hours before Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari commenced a two-day visit to Cameroon to hold talks with President Paul Biya and senior Cameroonian officials in continuation of his efforts to build a more effective regional coalition against Boko Haram.

Talks between the two leaders would focus on the full activation and deployment of the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram established under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

They will also discuss further joint measures to curb terrorism, violent extremism and other cross-border crimes.