It had been believed that the insurgents had been reduced to a pale shadow of their former selves, but according to Niger’s defence minister, Hassoumi Messaoudou, this could not be further from the truth.
The minister who spoke to Radio France International on Friday said regional leaders needed to “rethink Boko Haram”. He also urged that regional groups and fighters defeat the insurgents.
He said, “We thought they were reduced to making suicide attacks,” he said. “Now they have rebuilt their military forces. We are dealing with an army.”
In recent times there have been more and more attacks by Boko Haram, but with the attention of the nation turned towards the Niger Delta, this has been downplayed.
The Boko Haram had also attacked a village in Niger killing seven gendarmes and wounding 12 others all while ministers were visiting though none of them lost their lives.
Leave a Reply