Vanguard report:Nigeria and Cameroon were, yesterday, locked in an argument over who killed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and where he was killed.
In a rare public show by
the Cameroonian army (Armee Camerounaise), photos of Shekau were made public
alongside a statement claiming he was killed during a cross-border raid deep
inside Nigeria by its military.
A Cameroon military source,
according to Cameroon Concord, said on Sunday night that Shekau was killed
following an aerial bombardment of his hideout inside Nigeria.
Purported photo released by
Armee Camerounaise (Cameroon Army) of the Shekau it claimed died from
Cameroonian fire, from the portal of Cameroon Concord.
On the other hand, the
Nigerian Army is also laying claim to the same feat but without photographic
evidence yet. The Nigerian Army said its soldiers might have killed Shekau in
Konduga, a town some kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
According to a report
posted on its twitter handle, DHQ said yesterday that, “there was no raid
whatsoever in any part of Nigeria’s territory in pursuit of terrorists as
claimed in some reports allegedly quoting Cameroon military authorities.
“All operations on-going in
the environs of Konduga and all associated border locations within the country
are completely being undertaken by Nigerian troops.”
Reportedly, the Cameroon
armed forces since Sunday have been in serious combat against thousands of Boko
Haram fighters trying to enter Cameroon via Fotokol from Gamboru Ngala in
Nigeria.
This came amid confusion
over Shekau’s identity as military experts are trying to ascertain whether the
dead ‘Shekau’ was Isa Damsaka or Bashir Mohammed, who are both top commanders
believed to be posing as Shekau.
Meanwhile, efforts to
exchange some of the abducted Chibok school girls with Boko Haram prisoners
have flopped again.
The Nigerian military
claimed that its troops might have killed Shekau on September 17 during a
desperate attempt by the sect to capture Konduga as part of their plot to
eventually march on and capture Maiduguri.
“It is getting more certain
that the terrorist commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is
the one killed in Konduga on September 17, 2014, the military revealed.
The military, however,
cautioned that “the process of confirming the dead body we have is the same as
that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing. He is definitely a
prominent terrorist commander. I don’t want to say anything about this yet,
please.”
The military source
insisted that the resemblance between Shekau and the corpse in their custody is
too striking to be a coincidence. They cited his facial marks, beard and teeth
in addition to the recovery by Nigerian
troops of some of the armoured vehicles and Hilux SUVs that had featured in
previous videos of the prime suspect. The source assured that the Defence
Headquarters will soon address the nation after full investigation of their
latest discovery.
The counter-claims by both
countries have raised some posers: Who actually killed Shekau and where was he
killed and how authentic are the claims?
How Shekau was killed
Details of how Abubakar
Shekau, the impostor and leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group was killed in
a shoot-out with Nigerian troops in Konduga on Wednesday, September 17 emerged,
yesterday, with military sources disclosing that he met his waterloo in an
ambush reminiscent of the type the sect had been using to hack down Nigerian
troops.
During the first attack on Konduga, where hundreds of insurgents were taken
unawares and killed after over seven hours of fighting with several of their
colleagues, arms and ammunition captured, the military commanders strategically
urged his captured members to send a message to Shekau that they (insurgents)
have killed the troops.
Before the captured
insurgents were urged to make the contact and deliver the message, the military
commanders had promised them that their co-operation would play a role in the
level of punishment to be meted to them after the battle, hence they felt reassured.
Also, the captured
insurgents had disclosed that Shekau usually moved in a convoy of cars painted
in military colours while he sits in a MOWAG Armoured tank with Boko Haram
inscription on its front.
When Shekau was contacted,
his captured men spoke to him in Arabic, assuring him that they had taken over
Konduga, thereby giving him the positive signal to proceed from Sambisa Forest.
To convince him further, some of his men that were captured were asked to sing
the victory song in Kanuri language they normally sing at the background.
Having convinced himself
that the messenger was his chief courier in such situation and the message was
authentic, he and his followers made for Konduga, heavily armed with
anti-aircraft weapons, general purpose machine guns, several AK-47 rifles and
other IEDS’.
However, on entering
Konduga town, he and his followers were encircled by strategically placed and
heavily armed Nigerian soldiers. Immediately he contacted the messenger and
discovered that something was amiss, he ordered his followers to start shooting
in all directions.
This spurred the Army
Commanders to give the directive to open fire. When he discovered that the fire
power of the Nigerian Army who used both infantry and artillery weaponry was
overwhelming, he jumped out of the MOWAG and made to escape.
But Nigerian soldiers
spotted him and opened fire on him, inflicting serious injuries on his legs. It was learnt that he also received
bullet wounds in other parts of his body as he was said to have bled to death.
Military sources had on
Sunday night disclosed that Nigerian troops scored a strategic victory in the
current battle against terrorists operating in the North-East on September 17.
Swap of Chibok girls with
Boko Haram prisoners flops again
Meanwhile, it has also
emerged that efforts of the security agencies to free the 219 Chibok girls from
their Boko Haram captors has failed again.
According to top
security agents that the deal to free the girls, who have spent 162 days with
their abductors, had broken down almost irretrievably as a result of the
inexplicable decision by the Boko Haram side to ask for impossible conditions.
One of the conditions put
down by Boko Haram at the last minute was that the Federal Government must
account for and produce 18 of its top commanders said to have been captured and
detained in several detention facilities across the country.
Although the government was
willing to free some of the Boko Haram detainees in exchange for the girls, a
top government source, who was privy to the discussions, said that many of the
Boko Haram commanders could not be traced.
The top government official
said: “Boko Haram commanders suddenly demanded an equal man-to-man exchange
instead of the agreed total girls for 16 Boko Haram prisoners. Also, of the 16
prisoners, not all of them could be traced by the government side.
“The exchange of the Chibok
girls with the Boko Haram prisoners was to take place at an agreed location in
Yola, the Adamawa State capital. But the true position of things as of today is
that the talks have broken down.”
Answering a question, the
government official said that Nigeria opted to bring in the International
Committee of the Red Cross as a facilitator because of its neutrality and
competence in facilitating such exchange of prisoners in many parts of the
world.
Culled from Vanguard
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