Force Commander. Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Maj.-General Abdul Khalifah Ibrahim, says the military will go after any successor of the slain head of the West African branch of the Islamic State group, Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, and wipe out the entire members of the terrorist group.
General Ibrahim said this at the Force Headquarters in N’Djamena, Chad, on Wednesday, when he decorated – with MNJTF medals and the Operation – 24 Military Staff Officer (MSOs) from Republics of Benin, Nigeria, and Chad who had completed one year tour of duty, according to a statement by MNJTF spokesperson, Col. Muhammad Dole, on Thursday.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, had on October 14 announced the death of al-Barnawi, during a media briefing in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Barnawi’s death was first reported in the media in September.
Since the announcement, ISWAP – the strongest terrorist group in Nigeria since the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau earlier this year – has not made any comment.
General Ibrahim, therefore, called Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters to embrace peace and surrender to security forces.
The Force Commander said the award of medals remains one of the most cherished and sacred traditions of the military, adding that military medals are awarded in recognition of bravery or gallantry, heroism, or meritorious service.
He said since the re-operationalisation of MNJTF in 2015 to tackle the insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin region, it had conducted both kinetic and non-kinetic operations – coordinated by the MSOs – that had resulted in the liberation of communities previously held by the terrorists, the rescue of thousands of captives, killing countless insurgents and “resettlement of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons back to Banki town, Baga and Doron Baga in Nigeria; Amchide and Kolofata in Cameroon; and Baroua in the Niger Republic.”
Chadian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt.-General Abakar Abdelkarim Daoud, who was represented by Maj.-General G. Mandjita commended the MNJTF for returning normalcy to the troubled region and creating a conducive atmosphere for relocation and resettlement of affected communities.
