Lucky Irabor, the theatre commander of the counter insurgency operation in the North East, Operation Lafiya Dole, has insisted that the Nigerian military has won the war against insurgency in the North East even though the whereabouts of the Boko Haram Leader, Abubakar Shekau, remains unknown.

Irabor was addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the army operations located in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital on Wednesday.

He said that the claim that Shekau had relocated to Kala-Balge, a village in Borno North, was a mere rumour that the military is yet to substantiate.

“If I know where Shekau is now, I will grab his balls,” the army commander said.

He however maintained that the war against the insurgency has been won by the military, urging Nigerians to do their best in contributing to “winning the peace”.

“It is now time for all Nigerians to contribute in the battle to win peace in the North East with the Nigerian troops having won the war against insurgency for the nation,” he said.

Irabor said every Nigerian has to ensure that peace is restored and sustained in the North East region.

According to him, the process of winning peace will involve all the stakeholders working together and evolving lasting strategies to address the root causes of the insurgency and ensuring that the a similar situation does not arise in the future.

The army commande also confirmed that soldiers were able to neutralise three suspected female suicide bombers on Wednesday in Madagali Local government area of Adamawa state.

He said the trio tried to run at the troops with their explosives and they had to be gunned down to prevent a major disaster.

Irabor also confirmed the arrest of the Chairman of Mafa local government area whom he said harboured a top Boko Haram commander and his father at his resident in Maiduguri.

He further revealed that the Vice Chairman of Kaga local government area, was also arrested on allegations of involvement in cattle rustling.