Nigerian Army Storm Sambisa Forest

In its determined effort aimed at rescuing the over 200 Chibok Schoolgirls abducted by members of Boko Haram on April 14, 2014, the Defence Headquarters, yesterday confirmed that its troops are in Sambisa Forest to expedite action on the rescue operation.
Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, who stated this when he hosted media editors and defence correspondents at a parley organised by Nigerian Initiative, in Abuja, said the military was never completely out of Sambisa Forest.
Olukolade asked: “What makes it difficult to get to Sambisa Forest? All of it is strategic. We are not even completely out of Sambisa Forest. As I am talking to you, we are in Sambisa Forest and we are in places contiguous to it.
“But we have a major plan in mind which I should not be disclosing now. We are not weak, we have the capacity.”
“Sambisa Forest is over 6,000 square kilometres. It is not true that the place was re-taken by Boko Haram. There is freedom of movement in Nigeria and so, people move about freely. Do you know that there are village settlements and communities in the Sambisa Forest and that is another limitation to bombing?”
Commenting on foreign interventions in the rescue of the Chibok girls, Olukolade rhetorically said: “On a diplomatic level, I will say all is well.”
He said as part of the “last battle” of Boko Haram, the sect is now attacking some towns and villages in desperation.
He further said: “The truth about recent attacks by Boko Haram is that all the places that they thought were their bases have been taken over by the military and so out of desperation, they are scattering everywhere. What they are doing is like a last battle for them.
“There had been occasions when the terrorists were reported to be using helicopters in their attacks whereas it was the Nigerian military helicopter that was flying to attack the rebels.
“Nonetheless, we are still committed to securing the civilian population at whatever cost. We are still committed in ensuring that we degrade their ability to continue their activity and eventually eliminate them,” he said