By Ndahi Marama

MAIDUGURI—The Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, yesterday, assured that all the Nigerian territories captured by the Boko Haram insurgents would be recaptured to enable the people of the area vote during the forthcoming general elections.

He also said that the troops fighting the insurgensts will be promoted by one step.

This was even as the Northern Elders Council, NEC, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan and the military over the level of progress being made to flush out the Boko Haram insurgents from the north east zone in the country.

A statement entitled ‘’Northern Elders Council, NEC, applauds President Goodluck Jonathan and the Military onslaught against Boko Haram’’ and signed by the Public Relations Officer, PRO, of NEC, Ambassador Yusuf Mamman said that the council was happy that the military had stepped up the fight against the insurgents and condoled the families of victims of the insurgency.

However, Minimah who spoke when he visited Baga town in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, which was recaptured from the insurgents by Nigerian troops, also assured all the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the area that the ongoing onslaught against the insurgents in all the captured communities would be concluded for them to go back to their various homes and vote during the elections.

Minimah spoke in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, the state capital few minutes after coming back from Baga at about 3:20pm.

He said: “I was much impressed with the officers and men in their gallant effort of recapturing most of the communities under the control of Boko Haram in the north east. I want to assure that very soon we will liberate all the captured communities to allow people go back to their houses and participate in the forthcoming general elections.”

“I am just coming from Baga and with what I saw, I am very impressed with the military. We have recovered a lot of arms and ammunitions from the terrorists. Presently, Baga is under the full control of our troops and fleeing residents are free to go back to the town and continue their normal live.

“We want to inform members of the public that there is no hiding place for terrorists in Nigeria; the troops morale is high and we are committed to flush them out of the land.

“Very soon all closed roads as a result of the insurgency will be reopened for motorists and passengers to continue their so-