The Nigerian military has
shrugged off a comment made by shadowy Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau,
adding that it was not considering any particular person in the terror group to
be relevant in the ongoing onslaught against insurgency in the North East.
A statement issued by the
Army via its spokesperson, Colonel Rabe Abubakar on Tuesday read: “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.”
“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
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.
“It
is also necessary to tell those that are still masquerading as leadership of
Boko Haram in whatsoever guise to quickly come to term with the fact that era
of cheap propaganda is over and in no distance time Nigerians and the whole
world will know who is saying the truth.
“Therefore,
while urging Nigerians and the nation’s well-wishers to disregard the audio
clip purportedly released by Shekau in its entirely, the Armed Forces is
calling on peace-loving people of our dear nation to go about their normal
businesses as the military is working round the clock to rid the country of
this devilish and anti-human group.
“Our
compatriots too are called upon to report any suspicious person or object to
law enforcement agencies for prompt action. It is in doing this that we would
jointly restore the dignity of our dear country from the claw of terrorists.”
The statement came days after the release of an audio clip online dismissing recent gains by
the military in the war against the insurgents.
The speaker claimed to be Shekau,
whom the Nigerian military claimed it killed months ago.
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