By Gbenga Ogundare
The Federal Government on Monday described the claim and figures being bandied by the Islamic State (ISIS), with regard to allege number of attacks carried out by Boko Haram and the number of people killed by the insurrectionist group in Nigeria over the last two months, as a hoax.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said the imaginary figures were part of the ISIS’ strategy to shore up the morale of its dispersed and defeated fellow-terrorists in Nigeria.
Mohammed said; ”Apart from these fake figures, we are aware of the planned release of old videos of Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria through the terrorists’ preferred channel to give the impression that they have continued to carry out spectacular attacks.’ Those videos are neither recent nor genuine.
”The ISIS/Boko Haram propaganda is being deliberately timed to coincide with the December 31, deadline issued to the military by President Muhammadu Buhari to decimate the terrorists, and it is also aimed at distracting the military and striking at its all-time high morale.’
”But the truth of the matter is that the capability of the military has improved drastically, and there is a higher level of awareness among Nigerians concerning the war against terrorism, which has led them (Nigerians) to increase their support for the troops on the frontline and to also own the war.’
”Therefore, the figures being pushed out by ISIS on behalf of Boko Haram represent nothing but a figment of the terrorists’ imagination. We recently visited Bama, from where they once ran their phony Caliphate, but all we saw were gallant troops holding sway.’
”We therefore, wondered where the terrorists have been carrying out their so-called spectacular attacks, as indicated by ISIS, when indeed the capability of the shameless cowards has been so degraded that all they can do now is to target innocent women and children, using equally innocent children and women as their bomb carriers.”
The Minister further stated that the decimated Boko Haram terrorists were so hungry, broke, sick and desperate that all they could now do was to clutch at straws.
Mohammed therefore urged Nigerians to ignore ‘their meaningless propaganda, saying that in the days ahead, there will be more of such Boko Haram propaganda, targeted at weakening the resolve of our brave troops, instilling fears into the minds of Nigerians and also seeking to impress their fellow terrorists in ISIS.
The Minister said Nigerians should see the propaganda for what it is; a hoax.