Nigerian forces killed more than 300 Boko Haram militants during an operation to recapture 11 towns and villages since the start of the week, the military said on Wednesday, as regional neighbors also pounded the militants.
Two soldiers lost their lives and 10 were wounded during the operation in Borno state, he added. The deaths have not been independently verified.
Nigerian forces have been accused of overstating enemy casualties in the past. But the two-day operation against militants in Borno State had inflicted "massive casualties", according to Olukolade.
He said he was not surprised Boko Haram was continuing to carry out attacks despite "heat" from coalition troops.
"What you see are elements of their desperate response to the ongoing onslaught on their various camps and locations. It is expected and it will be contained accordingly," he added.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that up to 30 people died in an airstrike in Niger.
The victims were attending a funeral ceremony at a village near the Nigerian border when an unidentified plane began dropping bombs, local officials and humanitarian sources said.
It is not yet clear who was responsible for the bombardment, but Nigeria has denied responsibility.
Niger has been the target of bombings in the past, blamed on Boko Haram since it widened its brutal insurgency.
Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed during the group's campaign for installing its authoritarian state.
Niger, Chad and Cameroon have recently formed a military coalition with Nigeria to help combat the threat.
