All The Shekaus Including The Original Shekau Has Been Killed, As Current Shekau Is Wounded-Military
Dan Garba
The Nigerian military has again reiterated its commitment to end the Boko Haram insurgency just as it said the end of the insurgency which has been waging for the last seven years is now in sight.
Major General Lucky E. Irabor, the theatre commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, stated this in Yola, late on Wednesday, after he received brief of the counter insurgency operations from top commanders from the Adamawa axis.
Irabor who spoke at the 23rd Armoured Brigade, Jalo cantonment, in the company of Brigadier General Benson Akinroluyo, the Brigade commander 23rd Armoured Brigade and Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of zone three Mr. U. Mbusube said every inch occupied by insurgents will soon be reclaimed.
He also stated that proposed swap deal involving the missing Chibok school girls with some captured members of the Boko Haram sect should not be seen as a sign of failure.
He said if the President in his wisdom, decides it is right to go with the swap deal on the missing chibok girls it should not be seen as a sign of failure on the part of the President or the military to rescue the missing girls.
He said, ” There are other countries where this have been done and so we don’t need to go into any contentions with that.
“Don’t forget that this people that we are talking about are Nigerians. Mr. President as Commander in Chief of the Armed forces he’s the President of every Nigerian, both good and bad Nigerians. So it is not to say that the military has failed if there’s a swap”.
He cited the cease fire recently reached by the Colombian Government and the FARC rebels in that country, to explain the point that insurgency, don’t necessarily end through the use of military campaigns as insurgency in that country had raged for over 50 years.
But said in the case of Nigeria where the insurgency has been raging for the last six to seven years, the end of the insurgency is in sight, adding that very soon every inch occupied by the insurgents will soon be reclaimed including their hideouts in the Sambisa Forest.
He further said the military will do whatever is needful to bring the insurgency to an end and if that entails hunting down every one of the insurgents until the last man to take them out it would do so.
Irabor’s words, “We are working round the clock and we have rescued over 20,000 people. We would ensure that those who have a deranged and deformed ideology tow the path of reasoning with the rest of the society and that is what we are doing and have been doing.
“If they fail to give up their foolish ideology, we will hunt every one of them until the last man is taken out. I can’t put a time frame to it but all I can say is that the end of insurgency is in sight. And every inch held by the insurgents within the shortest possible time will soon be reclaimed.”.
According to him, all the Shekau’s including the original Shekau have been killed while the current Shekau, attacked by the military a week ago, he said was severely injured in that attacks.
“Regarding Shekau we have had series of Shekau’s that have been killed and I can confirm to you that the original Shekau was actually killed, the second Shekau was killed, that I can also confirm to you.
” The man that now presents himself as Shekau I can also confirm to you that a few weeks back, that he was wounded. I am yet to confirm whether, he is dead or not,” he added.
He noted that the current divisions within the Boko Haram sect was proof that the sustained military clamp down on the insurgents had brought the sect under pressure and strained their cohesion as those who have felt the heat are now at the verge of surrendering.
The military also noted that the current divisions within the Boko Haram insurgency was proof that the sustained military clamp down on the insurgents had brought the sect under pressure and strained their cohesion as a fighting force.
