Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, on Friday ordered the Theatre Commander, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, to capture Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, dead or alive.
This is contained in a statement by Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, Director Army Public Relations.
The Theatre Commander was directed to do so within 40 days.
“He is to employ all arsenal at the disposal of the Theatre Command to smoke out Shekau wherever he is hiding in Nigeria.
“The general public is please requested to also assist and volunteer information that would lead to the accomplishment of this task”, it read.
Shekau has been evasive for years despite claims of capture or killing by the Nigeria military.
He recently appeared in a video where he boasted that his fighter abducted some police women.
In the 17 minutes and 25 seconds video, graphic contents of one of the terror victims are shown, as well as images of another set of victims perhaps about to be beheaded.
Shekau, takes credit for the attack and mocked Nigerian security officials for lying that Boko Haram has been defeated.
“I want to tell you that we are the one that attacked the convoy, here are the vehicles for all to witness, we are the ones that abducted the female police officers. In fact, they are senior female police officers,” Shekau boasted.
“What we did is nothing when compared to our women, children, and friends that have been wiped out or arrested for many years by the Nigerian government. We only abducted them to serve as slaves to us.”
He also declares that the women his group abducted are fewer than 10 in number, and referred to them as “slaves”.
