Military authorities revealed yesterday that with the grand offensive mounted by the Armed Forces of Nigeria against Boko Haram and the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP), the terror leader, Abubakar Shekau is set to surrender.
Speaking at a briefing in Abuja attended by the leadership of DICON, led by Major General Victor Ezugwu, the Coordinator of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General John Enenche, said while there was no official contact with the terror leader, his body language showed that he was ready to surrender.
He added that Boko Haram has been degraded by the ongoing pounding of its forces and structures.
“If you talk about body language, the body language is there. If he makes any move in that regard, you will know but from the onslaught from troops, they can’t hide anymore”, he said.
He stated that more airstrikes conducted by the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole killed key Boko Haram commanders.
“Several key Boko Haram terrorists, Boko Haram/ISWAP leaders, have been killed and their structures destroyed in airstrikes conducted by the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole at Durbada in Borno State.
“The operation was executed on the heels of credible Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports, which were confirmed by a series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, indicating that the settlement was one of the locations where some of the terrorists’ hierarchy often hibernate”, he said.
He explained that fighter jets dispatched by the Air Task Force took turns in attacking the location scoring accurate hits within the target area, which resulted in the death of many terrorists.
“Others, who were seen attempting to flee the area, were taken out in follow-on attacks.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria, in furtherance of the objective of restoring peace and security in the North-east will sustain the offensive against the enemies of our nation”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) also said it had produced 18,000 hand sanitisers and ventilator machine, “Dicovent” in support of government’s effort to contain COVID-19 pandemic.
It called on federal and state governments to patronise the products produced by Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to enable mass production.