Muhammadu Buhari, President, Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday insisted that the Boko Haram militant sect has been technically defeated, despite recent attacks by the group.
The terrorists’ recent deadly attack was carried out on Dalori, a village in Borno State, where about 86 persons were killed.
The militant group was said to have burnt some children alive when it overran the community, which is four kilometres away from the capital city of Maiduguri.
The President had recently said the insurgent group had been technically defeated, and speaking to BBC on Friday, he maintained that indeed the terrorists had been technically defeated.
“Well, all I know is that out of the 14 Local Government Areas in Borno State where they (Boko Haram) used to hold and hoist their flag, they are nowhere in charge of any of them again. But they can still regroup and go after attacking soft targets,” he said.
When the interviewer asked whether it was fair to say a group which killed over 65 persons in a single attack had been “technically defeated,” the President responded, “Well, that’s your own description of it. My own description is that they can no longer mobilise enough forces to attack police and army barracks and destroy aircraft like they used to do. They can no longer do that.”
Boko Haram is responsible for the killings of over 17,000 Nigerians, particularly in the North-East.
During his electioneering, President Buhari had promised to defeat the group if elected.
