We never said we DEFEATED Boko Haram, capture of SAMBISA marks beginning of campaign against sect - DAN ALI, Defense Minister

Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Mansur Dan Ali said the capture of Camp Zrro in Sambisa forest is the end of a strategic phase of the mission against Boko Haram and not the end of the campaign against the dreaded sect.

The Minister spoke in Yola at the Command centre of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) during a briefing for members of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) team and select local and international journalists.

The BBOG group alongside the journalists had been invited by the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on an operational visit to Sambisa forest to have a first-hand view of how the military has been fighting the war on insurgency and the efforts to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.

The BBOG team which comprised of the convener and former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwezili, the coordinator BBOG, Aisha Yesufu and another official, Dr. Manaseh Allen.

The Minister was responding to questions from Ms. Ezekwezili on why the military is still conducting operations in sambisa when it claimed to have captured it.

“Camp Zero is the spiritual headquarters of Boko Haram, it doesn’t mean when you capture that all of them will disappear but it is significant because it was thought that the place was impregnable. 

“Capturing Camp Zero is the end of the mission to capture the place, we are not saying the campaign is over but we have dominated camp Zero,” the Minister said.

Leading the briefing, the Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command, Air Vice Marshal, Nurudeen Balogun  said the NAF Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance  (ISR) missions over Sambisa forest have revealed sightings of women and children, many trying to flee Boko Haram.

Also present at  the briefing were the  Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

The team left Abuja aboard the Air Transport Plane Hercules C-130 for Yola where a full briefing was held.

“We have intensified our ISR to ensure displaced Boko Haram members do not regroup. Since January 1 to 15, 2017, we have flown a number of sorties and there have been some sightings of abductees,” Balogun said.