Security agencies have discovered that the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau is hiding in Gao, a city in Northern Mali where he is receiving treatment from Tuareg rebels from wounds suspected in a gun duel he between soldiers of the Joint Task Force and members of his sect early this year.
Military intelligence sources say that Shekau was able to escape by being ferried through porous routes in the vast Nigerian border with a neighbouring country in the North all the way to Mali.
The source also said that Shekau’s hideout and the training camp for Boko Haram members to unleash terror on Nigerians had been discovered, which further justifies the decision of the Nigerian government to send 1200 troops and Airforce fighter and transport planes to root out Tuareg militants and their sponsors.
Shekau was said to have been shot at a checkpoint when he attempted to deceive JTF soldiers by posing as a nomadic Fulani man returning from a journey.
A gunfight took place when the vehicle carrying him and other members approached the checkpoint only to discover the soldiers were waiting for them.
While Shekau and two other members escaped with gunshot wounds in the exchange of fire, two other members were killed on the spot. About six AK-47 rifles were recovered from the vehicle.
The source noted that most of the weapons, including the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) recovered from Boko Haram have been linked to the Libyan uprising against the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Addressing troops shortly before being airlifted to Mali on Thursday in Kaduna, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Azubuike Ihejirika, spoke of the need for officers and soldiers of the Nigerian army to be extra-vigilant, as there are indications that some terrorists may have sneaked into the country.
Two Alpha jets, led by newly decorated Air Vice Marshal Tayo Oguntoyinbo, departed the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport at about 4:25pm on Friday to Niamey, Niger Republic, from where they will launch the attack on the stronghold of the Malian Islamists Tuaregs.
It is gathered that part of the mission of the Nigerian troops deployed to Mali is also to fish out Shekau from his hideout in Gao, where he is currently receiving treatment, and bring him back to Nigeria to face trial for crimes against humanity.