The Nigerian Army has declared that Boko Haram terrorists no longer control any territory in the country, particularly, the northeast Nigeria. This is contrary to the alarm raised by certain stakeholders from the northeast, including some lawmakers in the National Assembly that Boko Haram still control territories in Borno State beside others.
The Coordinator of the Defence Media Operations, Major-General John Enenche, had in a media interaction on Friday emphasized that Boko Haram terrorists no longer have authority over any part of the country, notably, the northeast the Boko Haram terrorists, he said, once had a stronghold.
The Coordinator of the Defence Media Operations had on Channel Television on Friday, said that the Nigerian Army is now merely contending with remnants and weakened Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgents in the northeast. He stated that they now hide in bushes and no longer have operational base.
Enenche declared: “They are moving from bush to enclave and enclave to bush and no longer have any authority or sovereignty on any territory in the northeast and by extension, to Nigeria.”
He maintained: “As of 2015 before this administration came on board, at least 17 and 20 local governments were strongholds of the insurgents… by 2016, the whole of the northeast was recaptured, and the government took back full authority.”
Meanwhile, the Boko Haram terrorists have not only sustained the killing of Nigerian citizens, but they have also been sending soldiers to early their graves in the unabated war in the northeast.
The governor of Borno State on two or three occasions escaped assassination by the Boko Haram terrorists who ambushed his convoy to Baga and other locations in the state. In one of the attacks, about 12 security aides, who included soldiers and police officers, were said to have killed in one attack. The governor narrowly escaped unhurt.
Sustained onslaught and violent upsurge by the terrorists show that the war is still far from being won, and the claim of territorial cleansing by the Nigeria Army could raise some questions.