Nigeria has recently trumpeted a major victory in its battle against Boko Haram, claiming that its army has routed the jihadists from their forest bastion, but the war against them is far from over.
After years of devastating battles and a recent surge in attacks, the fear in Nigeria is that Boko Haram will simply decamp from the Sambisa forest enclave to other areas nearby.
President Muhammadu Buhari announced on Christmas Eve that a months-long campaign had led to the “final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest”.
The Nigerian military said troops were chasing fleeing Boko Haram militants, claiming that the fight against the jihadists was in its final stages.
But on Thursday, Boko Haram’s elusive leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video to dispute the government’s claim.
“We are safe. We have not been flushed out of anywhere,” Shekau said in the 25-minute video, flanked by masked armed fighters.
As access to the conflict zones is heavily restricted, claims from both sides cannot be independently verified.
How Shekau escaped from Sambisa remains a mystery.
He “might have escaped in the intense battle to take over Camp Zero,” an army source told AFP, referring to the last jihadist bastion in Sambisa Forest to fall to Nigerian troops.
He has since been spotted in Pulka village near Gwoza on the Cameroonian border — and is currently believed to be hiding in a forest in Kala-Balge, a security source said.
Shekau‘s fighters are believed to have taken with them scores of Chibok girls held since 2014, as well as Nigerian army hostages, to use them as human shields.
Despite the odds, Nigerian troops remain defiant.
“We are closing in on Shekau and his remaining commanders,” said a military officer speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It is just a matter of time before we get him, dead or alive”.
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