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Troops uncover secret Boko Haram/ISWAP fish market where arms, ammunitions, drugs are sold in Lake Chad

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Troops uncover secret Boko Haram/ISWAP fish market where arms, ammunitions, drugs are sold in Lake Chad

The Chief of Military Public Information, HQ of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), N’Djamena, Lt. Col. Kamarudeen Adegoke, has confirmed the discovery of a secret fish market set up by terrorists of the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), in the fringes of the Lake Chad axis where the real business is the sale of arms, ammunition and drugs.

In a statement on Saturday in Maiduguri, Borno State, Adegoke said 30 young men who claimed to be fishermen and farmers, were arrested in the general area of Doron Naira and are being profiled and interrogated to ascertain their culpability or otherwise.

The secret fish market, the MNJTF spokesman said, was also a fund-generating hub for the terrorists with which they procure arms and ammunition.

Read also: Troops raid IPOB hideouts, recover arms in Imo

“Troops of the MNJTF have discovered a secret fish market in the Doron Naira axis of the Lake Chad region during its aggressive long-range patrol at Tamfalla, a popular commercial fishing hub located in the axis of Kukawa local government areas,” Adegoke said in the statement.

It was gathered that merchants from Maiduguri, Adamawa, Monguno, Hadejia, Niger and Cameroon sneaked into the Lake Chad through areas that are now considered to be safe by civilians who commute around the area.

“The terrorists of Boko Haram and ISWAP have been using the market to perpetuate the trade of arms, ammunition and illicit drugs. They also secured the trade routes on the fringes, meaning that everyday commodities, the most important of which is to keep ISWAP well fueled, that can easily reach the islands

“In exchange, ISWAP collects N5,000 monthly tax from the people who are willing to pay.

“Items found in the enclave included packed fish in cartons, fish being prepared, assorted grains, house hold items, a lone motorcycle,” the Army spokesman said.

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