As the battle to rid of Boko Haram terrorists in the north east of the country intensifies with Nigerian troops in conjunction with allied forces from neighbouring countries gaining the upper hand, there is suppressed excitement about the reported death of a top ranking leader of the terrorists operating in the region.
PRNigeria sources at the frontline reported that the leader was a casualty of the ongoing heavy air bombardment from warplanes while clearing the way for the ground troops of multinational task force to move into some towns near one of the boarders.
A couple of weeks ago, the military high command had obtained approval of political authorities in Abuja to go all out and clear the region of insurgency before the February general elections.
A couple reliable security source confirmed the death of the top ranking leader during the air raid, but which authenticity was still being investigated by military authorities.
The leader was one of the senior officers in Boko Haram command to late founder of the group, Muhammed Yusuf.
When contacted, Defence Spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade declined to comment on the authenticity or otherwise of the report saying “as far as we are concerned, anybody that is associated with terrorism is a target and right now, we have a task of cleaning up the entire Boko Haram infested region and returning peace to the country.