Nigeria orders arrest of Boko Haram leader 'dead or alive'

Nigeria's army chief Lt General Tukur Buratai on Saturday directed his troops to capture Abubakar Shekau, self-styled leader of the Boko Haram sect, "dead or alive", a statement said.

According to the official statement, Buratai directed Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, to do so within 40 days, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the commander should employ all arsenal at the disposal of the Theatre Command to smoke out Shekau wherever he is hiding in Nigeria.

He appealed to the public to assist by providing information that would rid the society of these insurgents.

In November, 2016, the Nigerian Army declared the leader of the Boko Haram sect and 54 insurgents wanted for various "terror acts".

The development comes two months after Sani Usman, an army spokesman, claimed Shekau was fatally wounded during a raid in Sambisa forest.

In September, 2014, security forces announced that one Mohammed Bashir, who had been posing as the "eccentric character" Shekau, had been taken down.

It maintained that the sect leader was killed during a military raid on Sambisa forest.

But Shekau later in videos debunked the report of his death.

--IANS

py/bg