Army says Boko Haram leader is in "terrible state of health"

This was disclosed by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Sani Usman, who said that the army is now focusing some of its attention on another influential factional terrorist leader, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who has been recruiting youths into his fold.

Brigadier-General Usman also revealed that terrorists keep developing new ways to avoid detection and air strikes from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) but that the military keeps unraveling their deceptions.

He said, "The Boko Haram terrorists' tricks of evading air raids have been unraveled by the theatre command of Operation LAFIYA DOLE combating insurgency in the North East of Nigeria.

"The Boko Haram terrorists group has always perfected survival tricks to continue their nefarious activities through enticement, deceit, concealment and outright propaganda.

"These were decoded through credible intelligence which became imperative for the public to be aware of it.

"The insurgents deployed special roofing techniques in order to avoid air detection and bombardment from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

"They resort to roofing their living accommodation and hideouts with a mixture of coated sugar and mud so that the roof will not reflect when there is sunshine. Decisive measures have been taken to deal with this deception.

"There is no doubt that the main Boko Haram terrorists group factional leader, Abubakar Shekau, is in a terrible state of health and not much a threat as he is now a spent horse, waiting for his waterloo.

"However, Abu Mus'ab Albarnawiy, who has been busy deceiving and recruiting gullible persons especially misguided youths into his fold, will soon be captured. We reliably learnt that some misguided persons, particularly youths, are getting conscripted into the sect through enticements.

"They are usually attracted to the sect because of the deceitful and erroneous impression that Abu Musab Albarnawiy's brand of 'jihad' and insurgency is refined and genuine. This is far from it.

"Both factions are terrorist organizations whose activities constitute crimes against humanity. Their nefarious activities run contrary to the religion of Islam.

"The faction has recruiters all over the country, especially in the North-east. However, their clearing house for such conscripts is at Potiskum, Yobe State. Efforts are ongoing to track those involved.

"There is no doubt that Mamman Nur Algadi has been wounded and he is more or less a cripple since 2014 at Mubi. He was hit by NAF while on motorcycle. He is not a fighter, rather he taught in Boko Haram terrorists' enclave, and he is also a member of the Shurah Council of the terrorists group.

"He was wounded along with one Abu Mujahid, an indigene of Saminaka, Kaduna State, who was later executed by Abubakar Shekau.

"In view of the above, the general public should be wary of these unscrupulous elements attempting to recruit more youths into their sect."

Boko Haram alive and well - Shekau

Shekau released a video message on Tuesday, January 2, 2018, claiming several attacks carried out by the terrorist group over the festive period.

In his first video message in months, he dismissed the government's insistence that the group is defeated, claiming that security agencies can do nothing to harm the group's operations.

The video displayed footage from a Christmas Day attack on a military checkpoint in Molai village on the outskirts of Maiduguri with terrorists shown shooting at soldiers from the back of battered pickup trucks.

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Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under the leadership of Shekau, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.

After a massive military operation resulted in the displacement of the group from its primary base in the infamous Sambisa Forest, it has resorted to suicide bomb attacks on soft targets and carried out daring attacks on military bases, with hundreds of captives still unaccounted for.