General Irabor Declares Boko Haram Finished

Major General Lucky Irabor, Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Nigeria’s military operation set up to battle Boko Haram, said the terrorists last few strongholds in the northeast will be seized in the next few weeks.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Irabor said the so-called jihadists were now holed up in a few pockets of the Sambisa forest – where more than 200 girls kidnapped from the town of Chibok in 2014 are believed to be held – and two areas near Lake Chad.

Much of the success is down to better military cooperation with Nigeria’s neighbours, especially Chad, whose forces have been attacking Boko Haram fighters fleeing across the border, he said.

He said the jihadists, who pledged loyalty to Islamic State last year, were still controlling Abadan and Malafatori, two towns near Lake Chad, apart from their main base in the Sambisa forest, south of Maidguri.

The army was planning a new push into Sambisa after abandoning an attempt due to torrential rain, he said.

He said the army had rescued some 20,000 people from Boko Haram, a fraction of the 2.2 million UNICEF said last week remained trapped in the region around Lake Chad.

Irabor’s base on the outskirts of Maiduguri, a sprawling military complex with rows of residential blocks for officers, is the most visible sign of a shake-up introduced by Buhari, a former military ruler.

Under his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, the army had a reputation for being poorly equipped and running away in the face of Boko Haram assaults.

Britain and other countries have recently increased military assistance, and two Westerners wearing flat jackets could be seen jogging in the compound.

U.S. officials told Reuters in May that Washington, which blocked arms sales under Jonathan amid concerns about rights abuses, wants to sell up to 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria although Congress needs to approve the deal.

Irabor has set up a human rights desk to address the issue.

Boko Haram, which normally communicates via video or audio clips posted on the Internet, has said nothing since the Aug. 24 Air Force statement about Shekau being hurt.

The army missed a December deadline set by President Muhammadu Buhari to wipe out the group, which wants to set up an Islamic caliphate in the area around Lake Chad, but has retaken most of its territory – at one point the size of Belgium.

Since 2009, the terrorists have killed more than 15,000 people and displaced 2.3 million, with the local economy decimated.