Having chased out members of the Boko Haram sect from various villages around the Sambisa andother settlements previously occupied by them, Nigerian forces would finally push further into the Sambisa forest before the December deadline.
The troops are camped in Bita village, which is just 15 kilometers away from the forest and was among the villages liberated recently, according to Daily Trust.
“Bita town was very strategic to the military because of its proximity to the Sambisa enclave of the Boko Haram terrorists. Few months back, it was in the hands of terrorists, but we cleared and dominated the place. It is one of those areas liberated,” Major-General Yusha’u Abubakar, the theater commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole said.
He said the fact that Nigerian troops are now in the villages that were the enclaves of Boko Haram is an indication that they have done a lot of job.
“We are now very close. And we must, insha Allah, capture Sambisa before the presidential deadline,’’ the theater commander said while inspecting destroyed Boko Haram camps around the forest,” stressing, “Our major concern is that we must fight Boko Haram, not only to a standstill but to ensure that we eliminate them.”
Abubakar, who visited troops at battlefields in surrounding areas of Sambisa forest on Tuesday, said though his troops were yet to reach the Promised Land, he is happy that they are progressing well.
“I’m happy that we are progressing very well. We have not reached the Promised Land, but we are making progress. We are also making sure that we degrade and clear all Boko Haram terrorists,” he further said.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, who has been frequent to Borno State since his assumption of office, was also on a tour of frontline units last week, which include 113 Task Force Battalion, 118 Task Force Battalion and 23 Task Force Brigade in Gubio, Mobar and Kaga local government areas of the state.
There, Buratai boosted the moral of the troops, urging them to remain focused in the fight. He said they had done well and they must maintain the tempo and always be on the offensive.
He, however, told the troops that the army headquarters was concerned about their welfare, adding that the issue of their allowances and salaries had been sorted out.
“There may be a little delay, but everything is being sorted out,” Buratai said.
On his part, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, while boosting the moral of his airmen in Borno State recently, said in order to stay with the troops and encourage them, he left Abuja for Maiduguri purposely to decorate the promoted officers, stressing that they were recognised as a result of their hard work and dedication in the ongoing operation.
He told the troops that anybody who worked hard would get recognition.
On the operation, the Chief of Air Staff said: “The air strike is ongoing. We are intensifying; we are making sure that it is impossible for these terrorists to occupy our territory. And we are really making sure that we get them out of wherever they are now before the end of the deadline given by the president.”
The Sambisa Forest, which many public commentators have referred to as a safe haven for Boko Haram militants, became notorious after the globally condemned kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from the sleepy town of Chibok in Borno State on April 14, 2014. It is widely believed that the kidnapped schoolgirls are held in scattered camps in the forest.
Daily Trust correspondent and other three journalists were at the liberated Bita village last Tuesday. The village serves as a doorstep to the Sambisa Forest from parts of Gwoza and Damboa local government areas of Borno State. It was observed that many Boko Haram camps were destroyed, and abandoned assorted vehicles and other items destroyed, and abandoned assorted vehicles and other items destroyed by the Nigerian military.
The troops, stationed at the village, which is just 15 kilometers away from the Sambisa Forest, said that Boko Haram militants were at a standstill. According to them, they get killed or captured whenever they attempt to go out of the forest.
“Boko Haram terrorists still have sophisticated guns, which they use to shoot and try us right from inside the bush. You can see indications of gunshots on these trees. Sometimes at night, they come out to run individually, but they don’t succeed,” said a frontline soldier.
“Our base is here in Bita village, which we liberated recently, but we usually lay ambush on terrorists during nights. If you wait today, you would see how we would launch attack on our enemies tonight,” a well armed soldier told our correspondent in one of the liberated villages around the Sambisa Forest.
On arrival at Bita village, Major-General Abubakar went round the destroyed Boko Haram camps, expressing happiness on the troops’ performance so far, saying the military had recorded lots of successes in its anti-terrorism campaign.
”We have achieved a lot, and we are still doing much, but you know that the job is still there until we finish it. We are very close to Sambisa, we must enter and capture the forest before the presidential dateline,” he said.
He added that a number of Boko Haram terrorists had been taken into custody after they surrendered their weapons.
”For those surrendering, we have shown all the human sides of the military to them. We are receiving them; and some of them were very impressed on what they saw. We are also screening and de-radicalising them for eventual reintegration to the society,” he said.
Major-General Abubakar, who also oversees General Commanding Officers of 3 and 7 Divisions, whose troops are currently taking part in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, said his visit was aimed at boosting the moral of troops at the various battlefields across the states.
”My visit was based on a directive by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, that we must be close to our troops. We must be able to know what they are doing, guide them, look at their challenges, move with them and encourage them to fight the war,” he said.
While addressing men and officers stationed at Bita village in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, he said the Boko Haram terrorists had been degraded and weakened by the military after a series of operations. He said the military had no time to waste but to crush the ruminant of the terrorists and move forward.
“Boko Haram terrorists have been degraded. You have seen them. They are not trained; you have seen their capability. For those we have captured, you have seen what they look like. We have no time to waste; we must move forward to end terrorism in the North-East now,’’ Abubakar said, adding that the COAS was very impressed with the performance of the task force in recent times.
“He has asked me to deliver his goodwill messages to you,” Abubakar told commanding officers of the Joint Task Force Battalions in the liberated villages he visited. He added that the Nigerian Army placed great premium on the fight against Boko Haram terrorism.
“Since I was appointed as the theater commander, the COAS has visited the state five times, and for each of the visit he spent at least three days, which implies that this operation is very important.
“The onus is now left to us. We have to pay back by getting more committed to our task of crushing Boko Haram within the timeline,” he emphasized, adding that there was the need for the people to return to live their normal lives.
Assuring the troops of the provision of logistics he said: “I want to assure that there is no operational or logistic problem not known by the appropriate superior authority. We have lots of containers coming to Maiduguri, and most of them have spare parts, ammunitions and other logistic requirements for this operation.
“Gentlemen, let’s take this operation at heart and finish the job once and for all. Let’s finish this job as it is expected so that we can face other jobs.”
(Daily Trust)
