Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai has given reasons behind the Army’s failure to capture Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau despite the recent military onslaught on the dreaded Sambisa forest.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Buratai said Shekau and other leaders of the sect fled the forest as they could not withstand the superior firepower of the Nigerian troops.
When asked about Shekau’s whereabouts, Buratai responded, saying, “Your guess is as good as mine because as we are planning, he too was planning. He could not withstand the advancing troops into that location so he moved and we are still going after him.
“As for the items that were recovered in Camp Zero which we strongly believe belong to the terrorist, these were evidence to show that our troops have been there. These criminals that have been staying in that place are no more in that location.”
The army chief added that it was the expectation of the troops to capture some key leaders of the sect, but they (the terrorists) slipped away from the forest.
“It was the expectation when Camp Zero was captured. We even expected to see the Boko Haram terrorists’ key leaders. They were able to slip out of that place and move to another location. The forest is very large but we are still searching for them.
“The troops are continuously carrying out clearance operations in other suspected locations. But the most important thing is that Camp Zero was the stronghold of the Boko Haram terrorists; it was their main headquarters where we suspected the key leaders were hiding.”
Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.
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