The military strategy that cleared Sambisa forest revealed

By the time we capture Sambisa forest completely, we will be able to find out where the Chibok girls

are, because as it is now, anybody you ask in the captured territories so far, they say they did not see them; that they are not there”.

With these words, Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, set the tone for the massive  invasion of the vast Sambisa forest by the armed forces and the rescue of the hundreds of abducted young girls, women, children and some elderly citizens.

“When we capture Sambisa forest, we will be able to know where the Chibok girls are and government will take it up from there. And in the next six months, I’m sure that Nigerians would have forgotten that Boko Haram existed and terrorized a region, I believe so”, Minimah added.

At the last count on Friday, military authorities told Sunday Vanguard that about 687 young women and children had been rescued from the Boko Haram camps.

But the fighting to break into the mine-laden Sambisa forest was not an easy task as revealed by military sources. Some parts of the forest were swampy, others undulating. There was also some desert stretch.

Meanwhile, the over 30 camps of the Boko Haram fighters were built in a manner that if mine sweepers did not clear the swampy terrain, it may have been difficult locating the mines planted in the jungle.

But the military, having had the time to plan their strategy following several reconnaissance and intelligence flights carried out by the Nigerian Air Force, stormed the forest.

The fighters were taken unawares such that in the footage showed to the media about the military’s operation inside Sambisa forest, hundreds of the Boko Haram elements were seen fleeing as aircraft pounded their camps from the air while troops advanced launching artillery fired from the ground.

Meanwhile, all the exit and entry points into Sambisa forest had been blocked.

So, while several battalions were moving into the forest from Nigeria’s territory, parts of the forest that border Cameroon, and Chad were secured by troops from those countries.

The military onslaught paid off with the rescue of  the 687 women and young girls in three batches of 293, 160 and 234, respectively.

Though the Borno State government came out to say the first batch of the hostages rescued  were from Damboa area of the state, it did not detract from the importance of the rescue of such a large number of persons that were forced to move to the forest against their will.

There were indications at the weekend that many more hostages were rescued from Sambisa forest by the armed forces.

Confirming the rescue of the hostages, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the Sambisa forest was being assaulted from different directions, noting that it will therefore be untenable for any criminal to escape the military bombardment.

On the more than 200 Chibok girls taken by Boko Haram in April 2014, Olukolade said that the issue will be made clear as soon as the profiling of the rescued victims was completed.

 “The identities of some of the rescued women and girls are yet to be ascertained. At the moment, what is uppermost and of priority is their movement to a conducive place where they are now undergoing thorough profiling to verify where they come from, how they found themselves in the forest, etc. Additional number of persons is still being recovered from the forest. Until such comprehensive profiling is done, nobody can confirm whether they are among the Chibok girls or not”, the DHQ spokesperson stated.

“Whoever they may be, the important thing is that Nigerians held captive under very severe and inhuman condition have been freed by our gallant troops. The joy and sense of hope being expressed by many Nigerians on hearing about the rescue operation is therefore understandable.

“We would like to reassure them that the momentum of this operation will be sustained until that Sambisa forest is comprehensively cleaned out and all Nigerians held captive within the bowels of the forest are rescued.   There is great hope for the recovery of more hostages of the terrorists.

“The mission is not over. Until we reach the end before we can say if the girls are there. As I am talking to you today, more women and girls are being rescued and others are coming out from the forest, that is why it is difficult to give an exact number; and some of these people have to be stabilized because of the trauma they have undergone for God knows how long. After calming them, we will them ask certain questions. This is not something you do in a hurry”.

Furthermore, he said, “As you already known, troops have commenced operations deep into the Sambisa forest after sustained aerial bombardments by the Nigerian Air Force. The main objective as you know is to decimate and clear the terrorists from the forest which is their last bastion.

“The well coordinated operation is already yielding results as troops in the last few days rescued 200 girls and 93 women and an additional number of hostages. Over 13 terrorists camps including the notorious ‘Tokumbere’camp in Sambisa forest have been captured. Other camps overran and destroyed by troops include Wulari Bukar, Gangala, Anguwar Balowai, Jigide, Kotorima, Lagura Bello, Laguna Fulani among others.

“Several Field Commanders and foot soldiers of the terrorist group have lost their lives, some armoured personnel carriers, Bufallo vehicles mounted with Anti-Aircraft guns, a truck and several Hilux vehicles were destroyed by troops. Also recovered from the fleeing terrorists are a number of Anti-Aircraft guns, General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and several AK 47 rifles. Unfortunately though, we lost one soldier in the course of the operation while 10 others have so far been wounded.

“Already, the dislodged and disorganized terrorists are in flight on different directions and running helter-skelter in the expansive forest. There is no longer any respite or sanctuary for them; they will be pursued and tracked down not minding the daunting challenges in the mission including hundreds of land mines and difficult terrain of the Sambisa forest.

“It should be noted however that the essence of this operation is not to kill everybody in sight.   We encourage any of the combatants who is desirous to surrender to come out, as the forest will no more be tenable as a haven for their activities.   In the same vein, innocent civilians among those in flight are also encouraged to report themselves to the troops.   We will continue to treat civilians in the most professional and humane way.

“We thank all Nigerians for their continued prayers and support and assure them that ‘Never Again’ shall forces of darkness reign supreme in our country”.

Minimah aptly captured the mood of the onslaught to rid Sambisa of the remaining Boko Haram fighters when the Army chief said, “I will tell you that right now,  militarily, they (Boko Haram terrorists) are defeated. Those you are seeing are ‘armed groups, thieves, armed robbers, or people who go about to steal, burn markets and loot to go back to the forests’. That will continue for a while but it will fizzle out”.

Written By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja