(VOVworld) - The Nigerian army freed 178 people held by Boko Haram militants during a regional offensive near Aulari about 70km south of Maiduguri, the biggest town in northeast Nigeria. The rescued hostages include 101 children and 67 women, said army spokesman Colonel Tukur Gusau Sunday, adding that a Boko Haram commander was captured alive and is presently undergoing investigation. Nigeria and its neighbours, the Republic of Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, are organizing a joint force to wipe out Boko Haram.