Abubakar noted that the time had come to completely cleanse the forest in order to forestall attempts by the Boko Haram insurgent group to further carry out attacks against Nigerians.
Sadique gave the directive while hosting the Air Component members of the Operation Lafiya Dole at its Yola Flight Line to mark this year’s Eid-el Kabir celebrations on Friday.
He said, “Very clearly, Boko Haram has been substantially degraded, they cannot function as an organised fighting force. There’s not a single local government in the North-East that is totally under the control of the insurgents.
“But, the isolated incidents of attacks, kidnappings and suicide bombings by the group are a setback and this is not good for us. Therefore, we must redouble our efforts to make sure that we cleanse the forest before they even come out to do harm. “I believe that by the time we finish them up in the forest, they would not be engaged in these acts.”
The COAS urged members of the insurgent group to surrender now while they still have the chance as the government was willing to accept them.
Otherwise, he warned that those who refuse to do so faced imminent destruction in their hideout in the forest as he had ordered his men to redouble their efforts to ensure the complete clearance of Sambisa Forest.
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