By the time we capture Sambisa forest completely, we will be able to find out where the Chibok girls are, because as it is now, anybody you ask in the captured territories so far, they say they did not see them; that they are not there”.

With these words, Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, set the tone for the massive  invasion of the vast Sambisa forest by the armed forces and the rescue of the hundreds of abducted young girls, women, children and some elderly citizens.

“When we capture Sambisa forest, we will be able to know where the Chibok girls are and government will take it up from there. And in the next six months, I’m sure that Nigerians would have forgotten that Boko Haram existed and terrorized a region, I believe so”, Minimah added.

At the last count on Friday, military authorities told Sunday Vanguard that about 687 young women and children had been rescued from the Boko Haram camps.

But the fighting to break into the mine-laden Sambisa forest was not an easy task as revealed by military sources. Some parts of the forest were swampy, others undulating. There was also some desert stretch.

Meanwhile, the over 30 camps of the Boko Haram fighters were built in a manner that if mine sweepers did not clear the swampy terrain, it may have been difficult locating the mines planted in the jungle.

But the military, having had the time to plan their strategy following several reconnaissance and intelligence flights carried out by the Nigerian Air Force, stormed the forest.

The fighters were taken unawares such that in the footage showed to the media about the military’s operation inside Sambisa forest, hundreds of the Boko Haram elements were seen fleeing as aircraft pounded their camps from the air while troops advanced launching artillery fired from the ground.

Meanwhile, all the exit and entry points into Sambisa forest had been blocked.

So, while several battalions were moving into the forest from Nigeria’s territory, parts of the forest that border Cameroon, and Chad were secured by troops from those countries.

The military onslaught paid off with the rescue of  the 687 women and young girls in three batches of 293, 160 and 234, respectively.

Though the Borno State government came out to say the first batch of the hostages rescued  were from Damboa area of the state, it did not detract from the importance of the rescue of such a large number of persons that were forced to move to the forest against their will.

There were indications at the weekend that many more hostages were rescued from Sambisa forest by the armed forces.

Confirming the rescue of the hostages, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the Sambisa forest was being assaulted from different directions, noting that it will therefore be untenable for any criminal to escape the military bombardment.

On the more than 200 Chibok girls taken by Boko Haram in April 2014, Olukolade said that the issue will be made clear as soon as the profiling of the rescued victims was completed.

Read More: vanguardngr