Boko Haram Activities Now Restricted – COAS

By Emma Peters

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, says the Boko Haram terrorists are being contained with the recent renewed joint military offensive against them in Northern Borno and border areas.

Buratai said the offensive had pushed them to the remote Islands on the Lake Chad basin.

Represented by Maj.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, the Chief of Training and Operations, the chief of army staff disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at Monguno in Borno North after celebrating the Easter with troops.

He said the containment of the terrorists was made possible by joint operations by troops of the Lake Chad Basin countries, including the Multinational Joint Task Force – MNJTF.

“You will discover that the Boko Haram terrorists are now lurking around the borders, especially the dangerous and inaccessible areas of the Tumbun and Islands (of Lake Chad).’’

“And the best way to handle them is to have concentration of forces,’’ he said.

On the ongoing joint operations between Nigerian and Chadian troops in Northern Borno, Buratai said that the coming of the Chadians had given a boost to troops and equipment concentration in the area.

He said that this was necessary to route the terrorists from their hiding places in the Islands.

Earlier, while addressing troops of Sector 3 of the Operation Lafiya Dole, Buratai expressed satisfaction that they had turned the tide against the terrorists, adding that it was no longer business as usual for them.

“I urge you not to relent; you must continue to heat the iron now that our iron is very, very red so that we can beat the iron to the shape that we all like.

“You must maintain the momentum; we must never ever allow the reverse to be the case again. Now that we are moving, we must continue to move.

“Now, we are pursuing, we must continue to pursue, we are on the offensive, we should never withdraw to defensive position”. He said

On April 18, troops of the MNJTF killed 39 Boko terrorists, captured many equipment from them as they attempted to attack military position at Cross Kauwa.

Cross Kauwa is located in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno.

Between December 2018 and January 2019 a faction of Boko Haram led by Al Barnawi and Islamic State West African Province or ISWAP infiltrated Baga and surrounding towns, including Cross Kauwa and attacked military positions.

They were, however, pushed out by sustained ground and air offensives after a few days.

NAN