Amid conflicting reports on the death of Boko Haram leader Shekau the Millitary has come up with more photo evidence to back up their claim that the current leader of the sect was indeed the one killed by the military.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said during a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, that the corpse of the insurgents’ leader was identified by the people of Kodunga.
He said Shekau's real name is Mohammed Bashir. Olukolade illustrated the Defence authorities claim with pictures of the bullet-ridden corpse of Shekau and a video of the battle in which he was killed.
But a journalist close to Boko Haram, Ahmad Salkida, had it on “authority” that Shekau is alive.
Writing on his Twitter handle, Salkida, who is on self-exile in the United Arab Emirates, claimed that Shekau was not the one in the pictures of a corpse that trended on Monday on social media after they were published by the Cameroon Concord.
“Mark my words: I have it on authority that Shekau is well and alive. The pictures going round are not that of the person who torments us with his group,” the journalist added.
The defence spokesman during a news conference on Wednesday said many top commanders of the Boko Haram sect were also killed in the four battles against the insurgents between September 12 and 17.
Olukolade added that the military was determined to eliminate anybody, who claims to be Shekau, a name which, he said had become a brand for the leader of the insurgents.
He said, “Nigerian troops have been conducting coordinated air and land operations in furtherance of efforts at containing the terrorists in the North -East. . Somehow, it became apparent that the terrorists, in continuation of their campaign of terror, were determined to take over communities around Maiduguri, which is their prime target.
“There was, therefore, the need to ensure that communities such as Kodunga were protected. It is noteworthy that the terrorists made no less than four attempts between September 12 and 17 to violate the security and enter Kodunga to perpetrate their atrocities. Air and land forces were subsequently deployed to handle the situation.
“The convoy of combat vehicles typical of terrorists’ mission that involved their top commanders was engaged by land and air forces. Several of the terrorists, including some of their commanders, lost their lives in the encounters which lasted an average of about five hours each. The troops captured some of the terrorists and their equipment.
“In the course of those encounters, one Mohammed Bashir, who has been acting or posing on videos as the deceased Abubakar Shekau, the eccentric character known as leader of the group, died.
“Since the name Shekau has become a brand name for the terrorists’ leader, the Nigerian military remains resolute to serve justice to anyone who assumes that designation or title as well as all terrorists that seek to violate the freedom and territory of Nigeria.
“On restoring normalcy after the encounters, inhabitants of the community who were victims of their activities corroborated information on the identity of Bashir Mohammed alias Abubakar Shekau, alias Abacha Abdullahi Geidam alias Damasack, etc.
“Indeed, the recent devastation on the leadership of the insurgents is attributable to the renewed commitment to the mission of eradicating terrorism in our country.”
Keep the conversation going, please drop a comment.
Be Sociable, Please share
No comments:
Post a Comment