As the onslaught against the insurgents in the northeast gathers momentum, there are indications that the Nigerian military is directing efforts towards capturing the leader of the Boko Haram sect alive.

To this end, troops are said to have been placed on high alert to apprehend Abubakar Shekau, who is reported to be desperately trying to escape from the area.

The military is believed to have resolved to take Shekau alive to put an end to insinuations of the invincibility of the militant leader, especially against past announcements of his demise by the military, which turned out not to have been accurate.

In August 2013, the then spokesperson of the Force, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa released a statement which said “intelligence report available to the Joint Task Force Operation RESTORE ORDER revealed that Abubakar Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram Terrorists leader may have died”.

He added that Shekau “died of gunshot wound received in an encounter with the JTF troops in one of their camps at Sambisa Forest on 30 June 2013. Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide – a border community in Cameroun for treatment which he never recovered. It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August, 2013”.

However, Shekau re-surfaced in a video a in September 2013.

The current efforts at routing the insurgents, whose activities have claimed the lives of thousands of Nigerians, is reportedly being led by top generals riding on the high troops morale that has been boosted with the delivery of sophisticated armaments.