Nigerian
Army has revealed its plans to sweep Sambisa forest after it confirmed
that the dreaded Boko Haram group are still holding the kidnapped Chibok
girls in the forest.
The Nigerian military has once again confirmed the possibility that
most of the over 200 girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok,
Borno State, kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorists in 2014 are alive
and allegedly kept in two locations in the North-east.
This was disclosed by the Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole,
Maj-Gen. Leo Irabor, through the CNN Special Report yesterday on the
ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.
Irabor said credible military intelligence indicates that Chibok
school girls are still being held in a Sambisa Forest, which is the
remaining stronghold of the terrorists, and as well as a location close
to the Chad-Niger border.
The commander’s lead is coming barely two months after the Nigerian
Air Force (NAF), Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI)
of the Air Force, Group Capt. Ayodele Famuyiwa, disclosed that the
military had discovered the location of the girls but that the areas
cannot be attackedfor the safety of the girls.
“We have no fears that the girls are not there because that
particular location has been under surveillance for quite a while and we
suspect that maybe it’s a kind of ammunition depot or maybe a workshop
that they are using as their logistics place.
“Once you take off the logistics base, of course you gradually
weaken the resolve of the enemy to be able to prosecute any campaign,” Famuyiwa was quoted to have stated.
In the same vein, Irabor while speaking to CNN, said that
intelligence surrounding the current location of the Chibok girls does,
in fact, point to the Sambisa corridor, where his forces continue to
advance deeper. But while proud of the accomplishments of his men, he
says they need more international support.
He said: “The question of the Chibok girls remains a sore point
in our history. The biometrics — as it were — of the Chibok girls are
not known to us. Those are the issues which I believe are among the
challenges.
“We think, from the intelligence available to us, that the
remaining areas that we are working to move into, that is where we are
hoping to be able to rescue the Chibok girls.”
He expressed belief that following a two-year-old trail while
waging war against Boko Haram’s brutal insurgency, the missing teens are
now being moved in clusters so as not to attract unwanted attention.
The commander explains that while his forces advance on the Sambisa
Forest, they are also running down other leads on the whereabouts of the
Chibok girls.
“It’s a belief,” he says. “But beyond that, we’re also getting some intelligence that (they) maybe somewhere on the Niger-Lake Chad border areas.”
Despite the obstacles his men face, Irabor is optimistic the
Nigerian Army will ultimately be victorious in their mandate. The recent
“proof of life” video obtained by CNN, has reinvigorated their resolve
to bring back the girls.
“(It) gives us hope that what we have in mind — in terms of operations — that that is going to yield results.”
There are few things worse than a child being ripped away from its
mother. For two years, this has been the unimaginable reality for the
parents of the missing Chibok girls. But the commander has a message for
them: “Keep hope alive.”
Irabor said: “We are working assiduously so that all of them are rescued and brought back to live in their communities.
“I think that the light is beginning to shine and in a short while we’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
However, the revelation was not well received by the former
Director of the Department of Security Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, who
warned that it could jeopardise operations and safe rescue of the
girls.
Ejiofor reminded that the United States (US) were highly secretive
about the whereabouts of Osama Bin Ladin until he was captured and
killed.
“That information given by the commander is a very critical
information that ought not to be given out. You could recall how Osama
Bin Ladin was captured and that the Americans did not give any lead to
his whereabouts. This is because if you give out such important lead,
they might harm those girls.
“It is also very important that this current administration
ensures that those girls are rescued because it is the cardinal point of
their electoral campaign and promises,” he said.
The security expert also called on the federal government to look
into the recommendations and findings made in the Chibok girls committee
report, saying it will be helpful to resolving the conundrum.
“I believe that the present government has a duty to look into
that report and recommendations. One is to ensure that safe return of
those girls and the second is to prevent future occurrence,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gen. Irabor has assured that Nigeria has been working
closely with the US, running operations based off of air reconnaissance
that they have provided. He said that this has led to clearing a
significant portion along the east of the forest and some promising
wins.
The Theatre Commander also claims over 2,000 women and girls have been rescued in the last several months.
“We do have pockets of the Boko Haram terrorists still left in some places but very largely we’ve decimated them,” he says.
According to him, there is a sense among the military that as Boko
Haram has lost their territorial footprint, they are regrouping and
using asymmetrical tactics, deploying waves of would be suicide bombers —
some successful, some not — to inflict terror as opposed to the ground
assaults they once unleashed.
Irabor believes the militant group’s current capacity is “limited” and credits his force’s recent missions for the halt in attacks.
He reminded that just last month, the Nigerian Army captured Boko
Haram’s camp in Alagarno forest, once considered the group’s “spiritual
base” in the north-east.
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