Military In Final Stage Of Wiping Out Boko Haram-DHQ

DHQ Spokesman, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade

Information just reaching us indicates that the Nigerian military is at its final stage of wiping out members of the Islamic terrorists group, Boko Haram from the North-East.

Leadership on Thursday reported that the information was made known by the director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade.

Olukolade, who spoke at the just concluded media tour to Gwoza and other operational areas in the North-East, revealed that the military was in the final phase of wiping out terrorists from the region.

“The tour is even beyond Gwoza and while we were at Gwoza, you possibly are aware that our troops had taken Yamkeke. And Bita any moment from now the operation there will be completed. So you see that the advance is still continuing and the tempo of the mission is high and we are really in the final phase of the mission,” Olukolade said.

The army spokesman further hinted that the tour is to confirm to media the level of atrocities committed by the terrorists before they vacated those areas, adding that it was also to further confirm that life was returning to normalcy after the entry of troops.

According to him, media interaction with members of the community was indicative that the people were pleased with the security situation in the communities.

“What we should be doing is consolidating on the level of synergy in this mission; you can see that the coordination among the armed forces had really improved. And it is responsible for the successes of the mission lately and you also see that collaboration with other security agencies had made a lot of impact on the successes recorded. We should sustain it so that subsequently such incidents should not develop at all,” he said.

Olukolade said the stabilisation of the environment was ongoing as well as ensuring that the military kept to the slogan of ‘never again that the Nigerian military tolerate this kind of situation.’

The military spokesman, however, urged Nigerians to support the military and assured them that it would not disappoint them. He also disclosed that what was left to be captured by the troops was minimal.

“The area left to be captured are very minimal and what is important now is the stabilisation of the territories taken back and the mopping up operations; cordon and search was ongoing,” he said.

Olukolade explained that the Muilt-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was established to guarantee the success of the mission, adding that the task force had helped against the previous situation where the Nigerian Armed Forces will sweep off the terrorists only for them to go and regroup in other places.

He insisted that it would be difficult for Boko Haram members to now regroup, considering the involvement of the MNJTF which was specifically tasked to operate along the border.

“And they are there to ensure that there is no new breeding ground and escape route for the terrorists,”he said.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people as well as displaced many since it began its onslaught in 2009. Boko Haram is a Hausa word that means “Western education is a sin,” but it is officially called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad.

The Islamist movement which is based in the North-Eastern part of the country is also operational in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.

The US State Department designated Boko Haram a terrorist organization in November 2013.

Nigeria’s general elections were recently postponed by six weeks because of the sect’s menace, a development that led the federal government to allegedly employ hundreds of mercenaries from South Africa and the former Soviet Union to assist in securing victory before the commencement of the March 28 elections.

Meanwhile, the terrorists group had suffered huge number of casualties in the hands of Nigerian troops and neighbouring countries following the setting up of Multi National Joint Task Force.

The Nigerian military have recently carried out a series of successful operations in the fight against Boko Haram. On March 16 Gen. Chris Olukolade, the defence spokesman, said that Yobe state had been cleared of the insurgents.

The defence headquarters recently revealed on social media that the Nigerian Army on March 23, Monday, recaptured Pulka town, Borno state, from Boko Haram insurgents. It said several of the sect’s members were also arrested.

The strategic Borno town, the terrorists’ headquarter, was reclaimed March 27, Friday, after the brilliant operation by the Nigerian troops.