TheCable

Lucky Irabor, theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, says if he knew Abubakar Shekau’s whereabouts, he would find him and “grab his balls”.

Irabor said this at a press conference in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, while responding to a question on the whereabouts of the sect’s leader.

“If I know where Shekau is now, I will grab his balls,” he said.

Irabor’s latest comment is totally different from what he said three months ago.

In September, the commander boasted that the military had killed the individual originally identified as Shekau, as well as his impostor.

He described as “a façade” videos of Shekau released by Boko Haram.

“I can confirm to you that the original Shekau was killed, the second Shekau was killed, and the man presenting himself as Shekau, I can also confirm to you that few days ago, he was wounded. We are yet to confirm whether he is dead or not,” he had said.

“They released videos to prove that they are still active, but that’s just a facade.”

However, Irabor also told journalists on Wednesday that three female suicide bombers were intercepted following an intelligence report that they were going towards Limankara in Gwoza council in Borno.

He added that Nigerian troops and their Cameroonian counterparts had been making remarkable progress and recoveries in Ngwoshe axis and Gwoza hills.

“Just this morning, we intercepted the bombers but the three of them resisted and tried to ram into our troops. And of course, we had no choice but to open fire on them,” he said.

“Our troops and those of the Camaroon Republic have been recording tremendous successes in flushing out remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists in that axis.

“And of course during the operation, we discovered stockpile of arms and ammunition. We also intercepted 30 cows at Cashew plantation here in Maiduguri capital.

“We also arrested one of the most wanted Boko Haram terrorists, Number 164 on our list.”