MILITARY authorities are currently working to restore peace to troubled areas in Niger State and other parts of the country.

A military source, who did not want to be named because he has no approval to speak on the matter, disclosed this to our correspondent on Tuesday.

The Co-convener of Concerned Shiroro Youth, Abubakar Kokki, had on Monday said over 500 communities in eight wards of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State had been taken over by the Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.

He added that Boko Haram elements were in majority of the communities in the council.

But the source described the claim of 500 communities being under Boko Haram’s siege as an exaggeration.

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He, however, did not deny the fact that terrorists and bandits were operating in the local government, even as he assured residents that the military was working to eject the insurgents and bandits from the area.

The source said, “The claim that Boko Haram was in 500 communities is an exaggeration. I cannot deny the fact that they are in Shiroro Local Government. If they truly occupy 500 communities, the state would be in chaos.”

When contacted, the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, declined comment on the matter.