The Nigerian military has made a really startling
discovery inside Sambisa forest during an
operation that ended the reign of Boko Haram.
discovery inside Sambisa forest during an
operation that ended the reign of Boko Haram.
The mysterious white man captured by Nigerian
soldiers during last week’s storming of Boko
Haram’s headquarters in the Sambisa Forest is a
Frenchman and he specializes in repairing and
unlocking armoured personnel vehicles and other
fighting equipment, Daily Trust learnt from
authoritative military sources yesterday.
soldiers during last week’s storming of Boko
Haram’s headquarters in the Sambisa Forest is a
Frenchman and he specializes in repairing and
unlocking armoured personnel vehicles and other
fighting equipment, Daily Trust learnt from
authoritative military sources yesterday.
The white man’s identity is being concealed by the
Federal Government and military authorities for
diplomatic reasons, the sources also said.
Defence Headquarters has been silent on the
development since the news broke last Friday,
shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari
announced that Boko Haram’s last stronghold in
the Sambisa forest, Borno State had been overrun
by troops. Soldiers who took part in the operation
told our correspondent yesterday that a white man
was actually arrested in the Sambisa forest and
that he has been providing “credible information”
to military authorities.
A source said, “He was arrested along the Bama
axis of the Sambisa forest and agreed to give vital
information provided he would be spared. I learnt
that he is from France but authorities do not want
to make his real identity known for diplomatic
reasons…They don’t want to jeopardize the
success recorded.” Although some sources only
said the captured white man is “from Western
Europe,” Daily Trust learnt that he is actually a
Frenchman. All Nigeria’s neighbours in the North
East, namely Cameroon, Niger Republic and Chad
are French speaking.
The French embassy in Nigeria did not respond to
email and text message sent to it for comment
yesterday.
How top officers led Sambisa offensive
The one month long military offensive that led to
the capture of Sambisa Forest last Thursday was
led by “the best hands” in the Nigerian Army and
Air Force, sources close to the operation told Daily
Trust yesterday. Before the renewed offensive to
reclaim the dreaded forest where Boko Haram
fighters held sway since 2013, officers between the
ranks of Lieutenants, Captains and Majors normally
led operations, sources said. This time around,
more senior officers led the operation on all fronts
during the final onslaught. It was gathered that the
officers, besides various trainings they obtained at
home, have been trained abroad and had
participated in serious military operations.
the capture of Sambisa Forest last Thursday was
led by “the best hands” in the Nigerian Army and
Air Force, sources close to the operation told Daily
Trust yesterday. Before the renewed offensive to
reclaim the dreaded forest where Boko Haram
fighters held sway since 2013, officers between the
ranks of Lieutenants, Captains and Majors normally
led operations, sources said. This time around,
more senior officers led the operation on all fronts
during the final onslaught. It was gathered that the
officers, besides various trainings they obtained at
home, have been trained abroad and had
participated in serious military operations.
The 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi) vast
Sambisa Forest had been the nightmare of the
Nigerian security forces, including their foreign
allies, who provided various security reports over
the years. It was gathered that some of the fighting
troops were mobilized with light rocket propelled
grenades [RPGs], weapons they did not use
previously. The light RPGs, according to one of
our sources, could be carried on by soldiers on
their shoulders for long distances because of their
light weight and were used against far flung
targets.
“With the exception of one major of the Nigerian
Army, all the commanding officers that led the
4,200 troops into the Sambisa Forest are of the
rank of Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel,” a soldier
who participated in the operation said. He said
“the Bama axis was led by a Colonel who viciously
decimated many Boko Haram fighters. Together
with his troops, he captured Alafa 1, 11 and 111 in
the Sambisa Forest and freed over 1,000 people.
He also captured nearly 500 suspects, mostly men
who are being interrogated for having links with the
Boko Haram.”
According to him, “some of the suspects are
claiming that they were forcefully conscripted into
the violent group while others have admitted that
they belong to the group.” Another source said the
Konduga/Aulari axis of the Sambisa Forest was
captured by a daring army Major.
“This Major is one of the heroes in the Nigerian
Army. He was very close to the late Lieutenant
Colonel Abu Ali of blessed memory. He knows the
Sambisa Forest very well and was therefore
directed to approach the forest through the
infamous Gate One,” the source said. He added,
“The Ngurosoye axis of the Sambisa Forest was
led by a Lieutenant Colonel who is also a fearless
and versatile officer. His 151 Battalion is known as
Blocking Force. His troops recovered many AK47
rifles of fleeing Boko Haram insurgents and they
also freed many women and children.”
The real operation
Sources said during the planning to re-take
Sambisa Forest, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.
General Tukur Buratai frequented Maiduguri almost
on daily basis. “Sometimes he passed the night
there (in Maiduguri) and sometimes he went back
to Abuja. He personally commanded the general
operation,” an officer who craved for anonymity
said. He said radar with monitors was mounted at
the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army and everything,
including troop movement; logistics, ground
operation and aerial reconnaissance both day and
night were closely monitored with precision.
Sambisa Forest, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.
General Tukur Buratai frequented Maiduguri almost
on daily basis. “Sometimes he passed the night
there (in Maiduguri) and sometimes he went back
to Abuja. He personally commanded the general
operation,” an officer who craved for anonymity
said. He said radar with monitors was mounted at
the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army and everything,
including troop movement; logistics, ground
operation and aerial reconnaissance both day and
night were closely monitored with precision.
He said, “The close monitoring from Maiduguri
helped a great deal in reducing mistakes. This gave
the troops the confidence to relentlessly march on
during operations. The fact that the mine detectors
deployed to the Sambisa forest also demobilized all
the bombs planted by the insurgents gave our
troops added impetus. The mine detectors normally
detonated most of the IEDs with ease and also
cleared the terrain for armoured vehicles to move
freely.”
The source that added some Boko Haram
commanders and foot soldiers who were arrested
long ago and “de-radicalized” were also imbedded
in the operation. “The repentant insurgents, some
members of the civilian JTF and local vigilantes
know the Sambisa Forest very well, far better than
the maps we used in the operation and therefore,
they assisted greatly in helping us to locate
hideouts. Also, sophisticated fighter jets and drones
that have capacity to monitor things as far as away
as 600 meters were deployed to the Sambisa forest
and worked day and night,” he said.
The fall of ‘Camp Zero’
A military officer told our correspondent that this
was not the first time attempt made to capture
“Camp Zero” in Sambisa Forest where the factional
leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau used as
his hide out on different occasions. “This is the
second time Camp Zero is taken. The first was
during the JTF (Joint Task Force) in June 2013
before it (JTF) was disbanded and the area was
lost completely,” the officer said.
was not the first time attempt made to capture
“Camp Zero” in Sambisa Forest where the factional
leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau used as
his hide out on different occasions. “This is the
second time Camp Zero is taken. The first was
during the JTF (Joint Task Force) in June 2013
before it (JTF) was disbanded and the area was
lost completely,” the officer said.
He said despite the success recorded, there is
worry among the military high command because
some of the things expected to be recovered at the
building were not found. “It is likely they (Boko
Haram) are somewhere because they moved away
with their equipment and prized possessions,
including the Chibok girls in possession of Shekau
group,” he said.
He said there were other dreaded cells that have
been deserted by the Boko Haram terrorists, such
as the ones in Kareto and Gudumbali at the height
of offensive last year and another one in Kukawa
which was reclaimed this year. It was learnt that
while some of the Chibok girls and other captives
are with the Shekau camp, many of them are with
the Mamman Nur faction, led by Abu Musab Al-
Barnawi, son of the group’s late Mohammed
Yusuf. They are suspected to be held in cells in
northern Borno State.
“Camp Zero has for a long time been an objective
for our troops but it is not the end of Sambisa in
the true sense of the crisis. Boko Haram terrorists
have been trained in the art of war, so it is likely
they moved away for tactical reasons,” he said. The
source said the COAS, the Theatre Commander of
Operation Lafiya Dole as well as the GOCs of the
army’s 3, 7 and 8 Divisions and other key Army
Headquarters officers held a marathon meeting on
December 24 and continued meeting yesterday on
the operations in the North East. “They had a break
on the 25th because of Christmas and they went to
open the roads from Maiduguri to Damasak and to
Baga. Their main concern in the meeting is the
disappearance of Boko Haram leaders with their
equipment and lack of trace of the Chibok girls,”
the officer said.
Sources said beside the equipment found there,
Boko Haram fighters had raided many workshops
and laboratories in schools around the Sambisa
Forest in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states and
had fabricated fighting equipment and chemicals
with the facilities they carted away.
There is controversy as to how Camp Zero actually
looked like. While some soldiers that participated
in the operation said it has two underground
buildings and tunnels as well as hardware and
equipment for the training of the disbanded
National Guards, some officers told our
correspondent that the place was actually inherited
from the Sambisa Game Reserve.
“The National Guard were to train there but were
never there. A team went to inspect the place in
the 80s but the movement and training did not hold.
The solid structure there belonged to the forest
management authority,” he said.
***
Via Daily Trust
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