President Idriss Deby
President Idriss Deby of Chad on Wednesday called on Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, to surrender or face death.
Derby told a news conference in N’djamena, that he knows the whereabouts of Shekau, who, according to him, was sighted in Dikwa , a village in Borno State two days ago.
“Abubakar Shekau must surrender. We know where he is. If he doesn’t give himself up he will suffer the same fate as his compatriots,” he said.
“He (Shekau) was in Dikwa two days ago. He managed to get away but we know where he is. It’s in his interests to surrender,” Deby added.
Chadian troops earlier this week liberated the village which is about 85 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital from Boko Haram.
During a battle for the village, the Chadian soldiers killed over 100 Boko Haram insurgents.
The insurgents were said to have fled to a huge building where they were found inside wardrobes by the troops, who fired volleys of bullets at them.
But in an apparent last act of defiance, a suicide bomber among the fighters climbed into a truck carrying gas canisters and blew it up, killing a Chadian soldier and injuring 34.
A Chadian soldier told a Reuters reporter visiting the town after fighting subsided, that the building was Boko Haram’s command centre.
“They came to hide here as we advanced,” the soldier said, pointing to the bodies in the wardrobes.
The Chadian army spokesman, Col. Azem Bermandoa, who confirmed the killings, said his men chased those who escaped about 15 kilometres out of the town, where many walls were sprayed with bullets and most houses lay deserted.
According to the report, the Nigerian military had listed Dikwa as one of the towns it wanted to liberate from the insurgents before the general elections.
Chadian forces had planned to take the town last month, but were ordered back by the Nigeria military , which said it planned to attack it.
But a Chadian soldier in Dikwa claimed that the closest Nigerian soldiers got to the town as of the time of the latest development was 50 kilometres.
Abandoned bombs cause stir in Adamawa town
There is apprehension in Gombi, Adamawa State over 30 bombs said to have been dumped in the area by the men of the Nigerian Air Force.
It was gathered that the bombs were dumped three days ago because they had expired and therefore inactive.
Soldiers deployed in the area and vigilante members were said to have surrounded the area out of fear that the weapons could fall into the hands of insurgents.
One of the soldiers however said that they later pulled out of the area when they were alerted that the bombs were inactive.
But an indigene of the community told one of our correspondents that they were not convinced that the bombs would not go off.
He said, “As we are talking, we are still agitated because we are not convinced by the explanation that the bombs are useless and would not be taken away by the Boko Haram for other missions.
“When the items were discovered, the soldiers and our vigilante members were called in but the soldiers left when the Air Force explained that the bombs were expired and useless.
“But the vigilante members have refused to relax their watch over the area because they feel the Boko Haram people could steal and use them against us. We are also of the opinion that the bombs could go off.”
The Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, could not be reached for comment as calls to his mobile line did not connect.
Meanwhile, only Monguno out of the several communities liberated from Boko Haram over a week remains accessible.
Most of the towns largely remain “a no go area” as the military keep watch over them even as residents that fled in the wake of their capture are still afraid to return.
The Chairman of Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State, Ali Galgal, paid a visit to Monguno on Sunday.
It was gathered that Galgal was in the town to assess the level of destruction that took place during the short reign of the Boko Haram insurgents.
One of those that visited the area with the chairman but who pleaded that his name should not be in print, told one of our correspondents in Maiduguri that “the chairman presented food items to rescued persons.”
He added, “Alhaji Galgal urged them to consider what happened to them as part of destiny. He asked them to pray for a lasting peace in Borno State and the country in general.
“The chairman, who went from street to street in Monguno town, found decomposed bodies scattered everywhere. He also found dead bodies in some houses and government structures.
“It was also discovered that the insurgents successful looted many houses and business centres.”
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