Joyce Okpala BLOG: Troops Get New Arms And Soldiers Express Desire To Return To The Front And To Capture Shekau

Reports coming out from the field in
the North East where soldiers are
currently engaged in a war against the
Boko Haram terrorists reveal an
uptick in the morale of the Nigerian
troops.
The reason for the excitement in
the Nigerian camp is the string of
victories achieved by the military
which has been put down to the
arrival of sophisticated armaments
and the decision of senior military
officers to lead the war against
terror directly which also
influenced the change of some
commanders.
A source who spoke to a national
daily said that ”Some of the
successes recorded in recovery of
big towns in the Northeast were
due to deployment of new
strategies, improved disciplinary
measures, and sincerity of
participating countries in the
regional alliance and the
acquisitions of latest equipment.
”In the past, colonels have led
direct attacks in accordance with
military tradition, but because of
the large scale desertions recorded,
Generals then decided to directly
lead the war and this has greatly
boosted morale.
“Many of the troops that earlier
deserted have returned while
others have expressed desire to
return to the front.”
Recently, five key towns were
reclaimed from the hands of the
terrorists – Baga, Monguno, Marte,
Gamboru Ngala and Dikwa.
Now, Nigerian troops have been
mandated to ensure that Boko
Haram leader Imam Abubakar
Shekau is captured alive before the
elections, as well as ensure the
release of the Chibok girls. Even
Pres. Jonathan said during an
interview last Friday that the
military would capture Shekau
soon.
Twice in the past, the military had
claimed to have captured the
terrorist leader, only for him to
reappear.
But with the recent victories and
momentum by the soldiers there
are now fresh hopes that Shekau
can be captured this time.
The desire to capture the terrorist
leader this time, according to a
source is because, “On at least two
occasions now, troops have killed
characters calling themselves
Abubakar Shekau in videos but the
insurgents manage to find other
individuals looking like him and
pretend that he was still alive. The
order to catch Shekau alive is
therefore to ensure that it will no
longer be possible to resort to the
same trick. The rumour about
Shekau’s invincibility is one of the
factors that troops are afraid to
confront the terrorists.”