Army places new bounty on Shekau, claims Boko Haram leader now disguises in hijabs

For the third time in six years, the Nigerian army has placed a new bounty of on leader of the deadly Islamic Sect, Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau; urging Nigerians with credible information on him to speak out.

Disclosing this in a statement on Thursday, Army spokesman, Sani Usman, assured any Nigerian who provides useful information leading to Shekau’s arrest of N3 million cash reward.

The army said the sect leader was now the run after heated pressure from its men, hence the need for Nigerians to throw their weight behind its quest to arrest him.

The statement reads: “The Nigerian Army will give out Three Million Naira (N3,000,000.00k) cash reward for any credible information that leads to the arrest of Abubakar Shekau, the fugitive factional Boko Haram terrorists’ group leader.

“Anybody with such credible information can either contact the Military Command and Control Centre, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, any military location, security agencies or call the Nigerian Army Information and Call Centre 193”.

Crispng recalls that the army earlier on Tuesday stated that it got information from a reliable source that the Boko Haram leader had been disguising as a woman in an effort to escape the theatre of operation.

The army had said: “We reliably gathered that to avoid detection, Abubakar Shekau alternates between blue and black coloured hijabs. He was last seen in a black hijab.

“He is running for his dear life. He is desperately trying to escape the Theatre, disguises as a woman and dresses in hijab.”

On Wednesday, the Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Nicholas Rogers, a Major General, had while speaking at a press conference claimed Shekau had been chased out of his hideout and has since been on the run.

This makes it the third time in six years that a bounty will be placed on Shekau.

Recall that the federal government had in November 2012, placed N50m bounty on the Boko Haram leader as well as N25m each on four other members of the sect which it described as members of the ‘Shurra Committee’, an inner circle within the sect that is responsible for its major decisions.

Similarly, in June 2013, the US had consequent upon its official declaration of Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, offered $7m for any information that could lead to the arrest of Shekau.