Sambisa forest has a 66,000 sq/km landmass. Thats TWELVE times the size of Lagos. This was the former stronghold of Boko Haram, with its command and operational base situated in Camp Zairo, which had been a springboard for bomb attacks since it was seized by insurgents.
In 2016 the Nigerian army launched what was expected to be the bloodiest battle of the war. Two army reinforced regimental combat team, the rough equivalent of a division wrested Camp Zairo from 4,000 diehard insurgents in what proved to be far easier than expected.
It was so easy the Nigerian army feared a trap and held off declaring victory for 48 hours. The chief objective of the campaign plan was to eliminate the major safe havens of a burgeoning insurgency in advance of the main invasion force.
Camp Zairo was the mother of all safe havens. No army unit could move in or around Camp Zairo without serious casualties. To this end the Nigerian army laid seige to Camp Zairo. Artillery guns and tanks encircled the area, while modalities for the invasion plotted.
The GIC 7 Div couldn’t wait to assault the camp. Air and artillery bombardment designed to detonate landmines was launched. Hundreds of 155 mm shells and 500 pound bombs shook the earth across a three mile front, obliterating defences.
Long story short, the outcome was never in doubts.
Following the fall and capture of the Sambisa forest by the Nigerian military the Nigerian army, in a symbolic gesture of victory transformed the dreaded Camp Zairo into a shooting range.
For those wondering, Camp Zairo remains a shooting range. The insurgents have setup havens in the Lake Chad islands, and i dare say the same fate awaits them sooner or later.
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