The Nigerian Army on Friday said its troops had captured 220 Boko Haram insurgents in various clearance operations in the northeast region.

The Federal Government last night justified the approval by the National Economic Council of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account for the fight against insecurity even as it, for the first time gave reasons for its assertion that the Boko Haram insurgency has been defeated.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has alleged the decision to withdraw $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to fight Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East region as surreptitious move by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government to fund President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election in 2019, saying : “For posterity sake, I wish to place it on record that I was not among the governors, who approved the withdrawal of almost half of our savings in the Excess Crude Account, which belongs to the three tiers of government to fight an already defeated insurgency,” he declared.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday described the claimed approval for the release of $1bn to the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government under the guise of fighting Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast as curious and alarming.

At least five soldiers were killed during an attack by Boko Haram militants on Nigerian Army positions in Mainok village in Borno State on Wednesday night.