Military to wipe out Boko Haram remnants soon – Olonisakin

Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff

General Abayomi Olonisakin, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) said on Monday that the military will wipe out the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists from Nigeria in a short while.

Olonisakin stated this while speaking with newsmen during a visit to Maiduguri, Borno.

Olonisakin said that his visit was aimed at getting first class information on the anti-terrorism war.

“I want Nigerians to know that we are determined to wipe out the terrorists from our land.

“And from the Sambisa axis, we are really committed to ensure that we clear them as soon as possible,” he said.

“I am here for a routine visit with the Service Chiefs. I have come to appraise the level of performance in the operation and see how we can actually address some issues on the operation.

“The operation is actually to wipe out, to clear Sambisa, that is ‘Operation clamp down’ is to clear Sambisa of the terrorists,” he said.

Olonisakin said that the invasion of the Sambisa forest, which began about five days ago, had been most successful.

“The operation is on course. Like I said, it is five days gone now. The little issues being encountered by the troops will be addressed so that the momentum of the operation can be sustained,” he said.

Olonisakin said that the military had acquired some anti-landmine equipment to ensure the success of the operation.

“We have some landmine of course; it is an issue we have been faced with in this operation.

“We have some counter Improvised Explosive Device (IED) equipment and other indigenous devices that will be used to ensure that the operation goes as planned,” he said.

Olonisakin also assured that the military was determined to rescue the abducted Chibok Girls from the terrorists.

“The rescue operation for the Chibok Girls is also part of the ‘Operation clamp down.’ There are five little operations within the operation: the rescue operation is one of the operations.

“Every person that had been abducted by Boko Haram terrorists will be rescued, including the Chibok Girls,” he said.

Olonisakin stated that the military will also clear the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists from all parts of the North East.

“The operation like I said is to clear our land of the terrorists, we take the operations one after the other.

“We will move into those areas where we believe they are hiding and flush them out,” he said.