The Nigerian military on Friday said Nigerians can now celebrate because Boko Haram has been defeated.
Speaking with journalists at a media parley in Kaduna on Friday, Rabe Abubakar, spokesman of the defence headquarters, said the insurgents had been “totally degraded, decimated and 100 per cent defeated.”
“Today, I am pleased to inform you that we have defeated Boko Haram. It is not an easy feat. Yes, you may hear that an inaccessible village has been attack or that there was an attack somewhere. But, that is the last kicking of a dying group,” he said.
Abubakar boasted that Nigeria had set a record by defeating insurgency.
“Check at the history of insurgency in the world, there is no country that has defeated insurgency under six to seven years like Nigeria. Is it Sri Lanka, Mali, Columbia or Somalia? Boko Haram is gone. It does not matter whether its so-called leader, Shekau is alive or dead,” he said.
“The war is not about him as a person, it is about his group and they have been defeated. There is no inch of soil in Nigeria, where Boko Haram’s flag is hoisted. No more! Boko Haram has been totally degraded, decimated and 100 per cent defeated, and may God never allow such kind of evil to re-appear in Nigeria again.
“Our success was noticed by Mali which has been battling with its own problem. One of Mali’s defence chief had to come to Nigeria to ask us how we did it. So, that is to tell you that Boko Haram is gone.
“Let’s celebrate our success in the news, not the propaganda of terrorists and their sympathisers. Yes, we have also had casualties, but it’s like all conflicts.
“But, you can see that even developed and well secured countries such as France and Britain are not even totally immune from terrorism.
“I will appreciate if the press can focus on the good and positive things that make our country great. What do have to gain as a country when we promote headlines that will cause division and plant hatred and violence? This is the only country that we have. If anything happens and you leave this country, no matter where you find yourself, you are a refugee.”
Abubakar also disclosed that the military was about to launch an operation that would “take care of the nuisance of herdsmen once and for all.”
thenigerian.ng
