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Tag: Shekau

  • Why we are yet to capture Shekau – DHQ

    Why we are yet to capture Shekau – DHQ

    The Nigerian Military on Friday gave reasons why the elusive Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has not been captured despite a huge manhunt and the capture of Camp Zero in Sambisa forest.

    The Director of Defence Information, Major Gen. John Eneche,  who spoke at a press forum in Abuja, admitted that there was a mix-up on the information about the capture or death of the Boko Haram leader because of the various faces used by Shekau.

    The Defence spokesman also said although the” real Shekau” has not been captured, the military is on the hunt for him and would soon capture him.

    Eneche: “There were so many Shekau faces, that was what was responsible for that but we will get the real thing, we have now come to know that the real Shekau is yet to be apprehended, so that is the truth, when Osama Bin Ladin was killed, they went further to do a DNA test, that was what happened. The truth is because of so many faces of Shekau that came up, that was what brought up the mix up. But it is truth the real Shekau is yet to be apprehended and we will get him.”

    Eneche also gave an account of military operations in Nigeria, saying the Nigerian military has done well.

    “The Armed Forces of Nigeria has been able to decimate and degrade the Boko Haram terrorists from their activities to splinter acts of terrorism here and there mostly within Borno State.  Currently, clearance operation is ongoing jointly by the Armed Forces to eliminate both active and passive acts of terrorism in the North East.  It is worthy of note that some countries such as Britain, United States and France among others provided one form of assistance to the military in our effort so far in the North East,” he said.

    Eneche also said Operation SHARAN DAJI in the Northwest has been able to curtail the activities of cattle rustlers with many of them embracing the amnesty offered by Zamfara State government.

     

  • Shekau’ll soon be arrested, says minister

    Shekau’ll soon be arrested, says minister

    MINISTER of Defence Mansur Dan-Ali is optimistic that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau who is on the run, will soon be arrested.

    He spoke yesterday with State House correspondents after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said Boko Haram insurgents were defeated after their spiritual base and headquarters was captured by Nigerian troops.

    On moves to capture Shekau, he said: “I believe it’s just a matter of time. It took America about seven to 10 years to get Osama bin Laden. So, we will get  Shekau as soon as possible.

    “I told you before now, the spiritual headquarters has been ransacked and vandalised. He (Shekau) is on the run. So, he may be hiding in one of the enclaves of Sambisa forest, which we are dominating.

    “We have opened up the place. We are using the place as a training area, whereby army engineers will open roads. We shall be patrolling and ransacking that forest for Shekau.”

    Reminded that several reports had claimed that Shekau had been killed, he said: “Let me tell you categorically. These insurgents, they have a way of putting masks. There could be so many, but we are looking for the real one.

    “He has been using masks to portray Shekau in one incident or the other to give an impression that he has been killed so that we will relax, but we will not relax; we are on his trail.”

     

  • Boko Haram leader Shekau threatens more bombings in new video

    Boko Haram leader Shekau threatens more bombings in new video

    •Four soldiers killed in operation against sect
    •Deaf and dumb terrorist arrested with eight mobile phones

    Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, yesterday claimed responsibility for the recent spate of suicide bombings in Borno State.

    That was 24 hours after the latest suicide attack in Borno State in which two persons were killed when four female suicide bombers detonated their explosives.

    He said the terror sect was “responsible for all the suicide explosions in Maiduguri and we will continue with them.”

    He denied claims by the armies of Nigeria and Cameroon that scores of his fighters have been killed in recent encounters.

    Shekau spoke in a video message, saying he is in good health.

    There were speculations that he might have been hit in a recent attack by the Nigerian military.

    But he looked subdued in the video recording compared with previous appearances.

    He vowed that Boko Haram will not back down until it establishes Sharia in Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Mali.

    Shekau picked on President Paul Biya of Cameroon for saying Yaounde’s soldiers   killed 60 Boko Haram fighters and arrested 21 others in recent weeks.

    “We fought along the Cameroonian border. You lied that you killed 60 of our fighters, that you arrested 20 of our men, that you freed 5,000 of your people,” the Boko Haram leader said.

    “Paul Biya, is it that you can’t live off lies? Is it with this that you are going to convince the West, your leaders? It is unfortunate. Be careful, Paul Biya.”

    Shekau also said that the caliphate he declared in August 2014 “is running smoothly,” apparently in a bid to rubbish reports that the terror sect has lost much of the territory it used to hold in the Northeast, especially the Sambisa Forest that once served as its base.

    Shekau was last seen on camera in a video message in December last year after the Nigerian army declared it had flushed out Boko Haram fighters from Sambisa Forest.

    An army officer and three soldiers were confirmed killed in a clash with Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.

    Men attached to Operation Lafiya Dole were on the trail of a band of terrorists in Doho, Mina, Maideni, Donari, Salari and Lawari villages in the northern part of the state when the incident happened late Wednesday.

    The extremists, according to  the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Usman had  attempted to infiltrate Magumeri village.

    They were however repelled by soldiers who gave them a chase.

    He said that after a hot chase and mop up, the troops were able to neutralise an unconfirmed number of Boko Haram terrorists.

    They also recovered one gun truck, two anti-aircraft guns, two  extra barrels,   two  rocket propelled grenade bombs, 31 pieces of Nitrogen 57mm bombs, one roll of Nitrogen cable and a  60mm mortar bomb.

    Others are:  assorted General Purpose Machine Gun and anti-aircraft ammunition and their links, three spare vehicle tyres with rims, one vulcanizing machine, one Qlink motorcycle, foodstuff and three Boko Haram terrorist sown camouflage.

    Besides, troops of the 22 Brigade of the army, have   cleared Boko Haram terrorists out of Gujari village, Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State. This followed information about the convergence of the extremists in the area preparatory to launching attacks on nearby communities.

    The army spokesman said that during the operation, the troops killed two Boko Haram terrorists while an unspecified number escaped with gunshot wounds into the  forest.

    At the location, the troops discovered and destroyed a tailoring shed and  recovered one  Rocket Propelled Grenade Bomb, three  Dane guns, one  double  barrel pump action guns, two  bandoliers, 23 empty cases of Shilka gun ammunition, two  initiation water container and one motorcycle battery among other items.

    Similarly,soldiers fighting Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State arrested a deaf and dumb suspected member of the terror sect.

    Recovered from the man were eight functional mobile handsets, a bunch of keys, two  passport photographs, two  amulet charms and a transistor radio.

    But the suspect’s name could not be immediately ascertained because of his disability.

    Usman  said,no fewer than  nine members of the sect willingly surrendered to soldiers of  Operation Lafiya Dole deployed along Dikwa-Gulumba Gana road in northern Borno after claiming to get tired of life under Boko Haram.

    The former terrorists who came from  Tambashe Village in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno state are currently been held and interrogated by the army to determine the veracity of their claim.

    Usman said the armed forces are continuing  with clearance operations in  suspected Boko Haram  locations through patrols, ambushes and raids with appreciable progress.

    Such raids ,he said,led to the arrest of   one Mallam Makinta Ibrahim , 45, at Bayemari, by troops of the 159 Task Force Battalion.

    The suspect who hailed from Yaro Grematalti Yunusari Local Government Area is believed to be a  Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) dealer to the terrorists.

  • Shekau in new video claims responsibility for Borno bombings

    Shekau in new video claims responsibility for Borno bombings

    Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, on Friday claimed responsibility for the recent spate of suicide bombings in Borno State.

    That was 24 hours after the latest suicide attack in Borno State in which two persons were killed when four female suicide bombers detonated their explosives.

    He said the terror sect was “responsible for all the suicide explosions in Maiduguri and we will continue with them.”

    He denied claims by the armies of Nigeria and Cameroon that scores of his fighters have been killed in recent encounters.

    Shekau spoke in a video message, saying he is in good health.

    There were speculations that he was hit in a recent attack by the Nigerian military.

    But he looked subdued in the video recording compared with previous appearances.

    He vowed that Boko Haram will not back down until it establishes Sharia in Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Mali.

    Shekau picked on President Paul Biya of Cameroon for saying Yaounde’s soldiers   killed 60 Boko Haram fighters and arrested 21 others in recent weeks.

    “We fought along the Cameroonian border. You lied that you killed 60 of our fighters, that you arrested 20 of our men, that you freed 5,000 of your people,” the Boko Haram leader said.

    “Paul Biya, is it that you can’t live off lies? Is it with this that you are going to convince the West, your leaders? It is unfortunate. Be careful, Paul Biya.”

    Shekau also said the caliphate he declared in August 2014 “is running smoothly,” apparently in a bid to rubbish reports that the terror sect has lost much of the territory it used to hold in the Northeast, especially the Sambisa Forest that once served as its base.

    Shekau was last seen on camera in a video message in December last year after the Nigerian army declared it had flushed out Boko Haram fighters from Sambisa Forest.

  • The dead, dying and reincarnated Boko Haram’s Shekau

    The dead, dying and reincarnated Boko Haram’s Shekau

    LAST Sunday’s new Boko Haram propaganda video and the response of the Nigerian Army to its vainglorious contents are a culmination of the transmutation of Abubakar Shekau, the infamous leader of the murderous sect, that began in 2013. Frustrated by Boko Haram’s endless video messages designed to embolden its militants and discourage law-abiding Nigerians groaning over the thousands killed by the sect and the abduction of 219 Chibok, Borno State, schoolgirls, the army kick-started his transmutation in 2013 by first proclaiming him dead, complete with photographs and birthmarks and how he was ambushed. But following widespread scepticism, much of it gingered by foreign intelligence services’ information, the army then had him wounded, then dead again, with any look-alike described as an impersonator or impostor, then fatally injured in the shoulder, and now mentally sick. No one, let alone a common felon, has had to endure such a remarkable three-year transmutation in one lifetime.

    In the rambling September 25 video,  which was a response to army claims he had been killed once again, Mallam Shekau fulminated: “You have been spreading in the social media that you injured or killed me…Oh tyrants, I’m in a happy state, in good health and in safety…People of Nigeria, Buhari and his wife, Idris Derby who has a goat eye, and people of Niger and the whole world. I’m fine now but once my time is up, you won’t see me again…You should all prepare with all your armed forces, even with our own John Kerry of U.S. They should all prepare with Ban Ki-moon also.” By suggesting he was ‘fine now’ the terror merchant all but indicated he had been previously injured, and that perhaps the army was right to announce that many of his commanders had been killed.

    But never one to let Mallam Shekau go unchallenged, the army, through its spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, responded thus: “The Nigerian Army wishes to assure the public that they should not be bothered by the contents of the video clip. This is because the facts on the ground speak for themselves. It is public knowledge that the military has been making concerted efforts to clear the remnants of the terrorists and rescue all persons held hostage by them, especially the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls. This is a task that will be accomplished, no matter how long it takes…The video has further shown that he has derailed and no longer believes and practices the Islam he professes to follow;  as he was absent at the last Eid prayers video. It is equally reported that he could not even lead prayers. The public should not be fooled by this individual.”

    It is obvious Mallam Shekau has suffered terrible reverses, and his sect is critically degraded and even now divided. Nevertheless, he is still alive, and even managed to goad the army into acknowledging he is after all not dead, but only mentally unstable. The army is right to ask the public to ignore the desperate Boko Haram leader, but declaiming upon his mental state is another controversy that is unlikely to be settled anytime soon. In any case, there is hardly any terrorist, not to talk of the bloodthirsty Mallam Shekau, who is not insane. What matters to such psychopaths is not their mental health, which they dispute, nor the justness or otherwise of their cause, which they swear by, but the simple, uncomplicated and often verifiable fact that they are alive.

    It would be a great plus for the army should Mallam Shekau be captured alive. That should be the army’s preoccupation. It would demoralise the sect, whose ranks are already depleted, and encourage an already hopeful country waiting both for the cessation of the needless conflict and the rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls. The army should stop speculating about Mallam Shekau’s death, since their speculations have often been spectacularly misplaced. They should in fact instead make it their priority to capture him alive rather than want or wish him dead. For, in addition to discouraging the sect and providing useful intel for the counter-insurgency operations, his capture is more satisfying than his death. A new and more vicious leader would simply step into his shoes should he be killed, as the extrajudicial murder of the founding leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, showed.

    By changing its priority from killing Mallam Shekau to capturing him, the army is unlikely to make the same mistake it had made in the past three years or so. Working secretly to capture him will not admit of error once that objective is realised. Let the army quit speculating about the Boko Haram leader’s death or mental health, for whenever they get their guesses wrong, the army is ridiculed, especially by the object of that speculation.

  • Shekau wounded as Air Force kills three Boko Haram commanders

    Shekau wounded as Air Force kills three Boko Haram commanders

    In an “unprecedented and spectacular” air raid, Boko Haram terrorist leader, Abubakar Shekau has been reportedly “wounded in the shoulder” while at least three other commanders were killed.

    In a statement released early on Tuesday, the Nigerian Army said an interdiction air raid was carried out by the Nigerian Air Force jets on Friday, August 19, 2016 in Taye Village, Gombale general area in Sambisa forest. The raid occurred Boko Haram terrorists were carrying out their friday rituals.

    The news of the “injury in the shoulder” for Shekau and the death of many of his commanders will come as a relief to the country’s military hierarchy which has come under scathing criticism for its inability to rescue the abducted Chibok schoolgirls two years after their abduction.

    According to a statement released in Abuja by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman,the Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include: Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others.
    Usman said: “In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we have just confirmed that as a result of the interdiction efforts of the Nigerian Air Force, some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were wounded.

    “The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State.

    “Those Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include : Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others. While their leader, so called “Abubakar Shekau”, is believed to be wounded on his shoulders. Several other terrorists were wounded.”

  • Military dismisses Shekau’s audio message

    Military dismisses Shekau’s audio message

    Nigerians should dismiss the purported audio message from Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau and draw more confidence from the military’s continuing success in the fight against insurgency, the Nigerian military has said.
    According to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, the audio clip is a fake and the Boko Haram sect which it describes as a “devilish and anti-human group” is being decimated by the Nigerian armed forces’ ongoing operations.
    In a statement issued on behalf of the armed forces by the Acting Director Defence Information, Colonel Rabe Abubakar on Tuesday, he urged citizens to go about their normal business as all areas liberated from Boko Haram sect’s control can now be freely explored.
    “The military viewed as irrelevant and fruitless effort the motive behind the recent audio clip presumably released by Shekau, the acclaimed leader of Boko Haram sects.
    “The Armed Forces is using this medium to appeal to the good citizens of Nigeria not to lose sleep over the concocted audio rhetoric of the waning terrorist sect which is a usual antic of a drowning person struggling to hold on to anything to remain afloat.
    “The Nigerian Armed Forces is not considering any particular person in the terror group to be much relevant in the ongoing onslaught against insurgency in the North East. Shekau or any of his cohorts would not deter the spate of the military operations to rid the country of criminals hiding under strange religious ideology to kill innocent Nigerians,” he stated.
    Stressing that members of the Boko Haram and their strange ideologies are being effectively wiped off in the military’s areas of operation, he advised that Shekau or his impersonators should give serious consideration to surrendering.
    “The Armed Forces wishes to reiterate that It is a well known fact that the terrorists have been seriously decimated and the tremendous effort and achievement recorded in the recent time by combined forces of the Nigerian Army and the Air Force is commendable.
    “The Armed Forces did not lie about the successes recorded so far in its counterinsurgency operations and for avoidance of doubt, the liberated communities in the North East, which were hitherto under the throes of Boko Haram terrorists, are free for interested person or body to explore.

    “The military does re-state that in the recent time a number of Boko Haram members have been surrendering and denouncing radicalization.

    “Our candid advice to Shekau or his ghost; cohorts or impersonators is to toll the line of their fellow comrades and surrender now as no more hidden place for him or his criminal gang to operate freely any longer.

  • Shekau: I’m still in charge

    Shekau: I’m still in charge

    The leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, yesterday denied being killed or ousted.

    He spoke in an audio recording attributed to him by security experts.

    In the eight-minute message in Hausa language,  Shekau denied claims by Chadian leader Idriss Deby that he had been replaced. He called the president a “hypocrite” and a “tyrant”.

    “It is indeed all over the global media of infidels that I am dead or that I am ill, incapacitated and have lost influence in the affairs of the religion,” he said in the recording released on social media.

    “It should be understood that this is false. This is indeed a lie. If it were true, my voice wouldn’t have been heard, now that I am speaking.”

    Deby declared on August 12 that efforts to combat neighbouring Boko Haram jihadists had succeeded in “decapitating” the group and would be wrapped up “by the end of the year”.

    He told reporters in the capital, N’Djamena, that Boko Haram was no longer led by the fearsome Shekau and that his successor, whom he named as Mahamat Daoud, was open to talks.

    “Gratitude be to Allah and with his help, I have not disappeared. I am still alive and I am not dead. And I will not die until my time appointed by Allah is up,” Shekau said in the message.

    The SITE Intelligence Group verified the authenticity of the message, and an AFP correspondent with extensive experience of reporting Boko Haram said it exactly resembled Shekau’s voice in previous recordings.

    Shekau’s absence from Boko Haram videos in recent months has fuelled speculation that he might have been killed or injured.

    He has not spoken publicly since he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group in an audio recording released on March 7.

    The jihadist commander refers to himself in the new recording for the first time as “leader of the West Africa wing” of IS and pays homage to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, referring to him as the “Caliph of Muslims”.

    He taunted President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power on May 29, vowing to crush Boko Haram and ordered his military chiefs last week to end the insurgency within three months.

    “This ostentatious person, a liar — I mean Buhari, who raised arms to crush us in three months. You Buhari, why didn’t you say in three years?” Shekau said.

    “We will certainly fight you by the grace of Allah until we establish Allah’s law everywhere on earth.”

    Boko Haram has been waging a six-year uprising against Nigeria, which has claimed more than 15,000 lives.

    The jihadists have repeatedly extended their northeastern insurgency into border areas of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

    In recent weeks, suicide bombers, many of them women, have launched attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

    The four countries and Benin have pledged troops towards a regional 8,700-strong force aimed at ending the insurgency and due to deploy within days.

    Speculation about Shekau’s condition — and even his true identity — has been rampant in Nigeria for years.

    The wanted Islamist leader’s whereabouts are unknown, but he has in the past made himself heard whenever he has been proclaimed dead.

    Some experts and Nigerian security officials insist “Shekau” is a composite character, with different militant fighters stepping into the role at different times.

    The original Abubakar Shekau — the son of poor farmers, who became radicalised in a series of theological schools before taking over Boko Haram in 2010 — actually died months, or possibly several years ago, according to the security services.

    But the United States and other experts have questioned the credibility of that claim.

    “Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath,” the insurgent leader, who has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council and declared a “global terrorist” by the United States, said in a video released last October.

  • Shekau not in Boko Haram’s new video

    BOKO Haram terrorists have released a new video on their operations in the country.

    Their leader, Abubakar Shekau, again failed to appear in it, fueling speculations about his fate.

    The leader of the deadly sect was last heard in March, when he released an audio message, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said yesterday.

    Shekau had been reported killed at least twice by the military, but he resurface to dismissed the claim.

    Soon after the March video, the troops, prosecuting the anti-terror war, said it had recaptured all towns and cities from Boko Haram.

    The military said on Sunday that it had freed 178 people who were being held captive by the sect in Borno State, and captured a commander following airstrikes on its bases.

    In the eight-minute video, an unidentified young man speaks in the name of the Islamic State (IS) in West Africa, calling on people to be patient: “We are still present everywhere we had been before.”

    The video shows the militants attacking a security checkpoint, seizing weapons, and slitting the throat of a man dressed in a police uniform.

    Shekau also failed to appear in a video released in June by Boko Haram.

    BBC Nigeria analyst Naziru Mikailu believed his non-appearance in the latest video will renew speculation that he is either deep in hiding, or has been wounded and even killed as claimed by the military.

    Regardless of Shekau’s fate, it was clear from the video that some militants in the country were still determined to fight, Mikailu said.

    The BBC analyst believed the video was produced with the help of IS-allied propaganda units, the BBC analyst said.

    The young militant spoke in Hausa, with an accent from the Kanuri ethnic group, to which Shekau belongs.

    Shekau became Boko Haram leader following the controversial death of the group’s founder, Muhammad Yusuf, in police custody in 2009.

    Previous reports about his death proved to be untrue.

    He sparked global outrage when Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from their dormitory in Chibok, on April 14, 2014.

    Shekau laughed in a video clip, and said: “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah. I will sell them off and marry them off.”

    The United States  government, which has classified Boko Haram a terrorist group, has placed a $7 million (about £4.6 million) bounty for information about his location.

     

     

  • Troops get mandate to catch Shekau

    Troops get mandate to catch Shekau

    Troops have got another mandate to catch Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau alive.

    Shekau is believed to have relocated from his bunker before the troops reclaimed Gwoza from the insurgents, a report has said.

    The military is said to be probing the “sudden disappearance of Shekau”, who has remained incommunicado.

    According to PRNigeria, the search for Shekau followed the recovery of key towns and hideouts of Boko Haram.

    The PRNigeria is the intelligence source through which the military and security agencies release strategic information.

    The source said: “With peace and quiet from the usually vociferous Abubakar Shekau, there are speculations within the security circles that the group may have been so disarrayed that it no longer has the luxury of issuing threats.

     ”A military source told PRNigeria that since the declaration of the final push against the insurgents in the middle of February, and directive to clear all terrorists’ camps before May 29 handover date,  Nigerian troops have been on the lookout for Shekau and other commanders of Boko Haram.

     ”The guy simply disappeared from the radar and suddenly vanished. We wish we can catch him alive.”

    Another military source, who spoke in confidence, said: “From intelligence report, Shekau has relocated from his bunker in Gwoza probably to Sambisa Forest or any other border town.

    “Nobody, not even some of the arrested insurgents, could locate of get in touch with him now. This is why troops have been placed on red alert to arrest whoever is Shekau alive.

    Troops yesterday retreated from Boko Haram’s last known stronghold – the Sambisa Forest – concerned the area was booby-trapped after three pro- vigilantes were killed by a landmine. A soldier is also believed to have been killed.

    A vigilante and a security source both confirmed the pullback from the Sambisa forest, a day after an offensive aimed at rooting out the insurgents.

    “The soldiers have retreated to Bama because of mines. They had been on the road but that made them vulnerable, so they moved to the bush but there are mines planted there (too),” one soldier, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

    The Sambisa forest, a former colonial game reserve, is about 100 km (60 miles) from the village of Chibok, from where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 secondary school girls a year ago.

    Intelligence officials believed they were being held in the forest, but U.S. reconnaissance drones failed to locate them.

    “Three of our boys were killed by a landmine as we progressed into Sambisa. We’ve suspended going farther,” Muhammad Mungonu, a member of a pro-government vigilante, told Reuters.

    The militants controlled an area the size of Belgium at the start of the year, but have since lost much of that ground after a concerted push by militaries from Nigeria and neighbors Chad, Niger and Cameroon in the past two months.

    Chadian military source said a joint military operation involving armies from Niger and Cameroon was expected to begin to encircle the Sambisa forest next week. Chadians will go in from the Cameroonian border where they have been massing troops.

    “Boko Haram are in large numbers in Sambisa,” said the vigilante, who requested anonymity for security reasons as he was part of the operation.

    “All their fighters who were pushed out of Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza and Damboa (in Borno state) all moved to Boko Haram camps in Sambisa,” he added.