The Federal Government has dismissed the idea that the Boko Haram terrorist group was gaining the upper hand in the war on terror, despite fresh attacks by the group over the weekend in Borno State that claimed about 63 lives.
The Minister for Interior, Abba Moro, who spoke on behalf of the government, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) program, Focus on Africa, that the attacks were “desperate and isolated” as security agencies have been able to push the sect from their major strongholds.
He said this was evidence that it is the government that is winning the war, not the other way round.
It will be recalled that members of the sect attacked a mosque in Konduga town, Borno State, during dawn prayers on Sunday, leaving scores of people dead, while 12 civilians were also reportedly killed at Ngom village, near Maiduguri.
Following a lull immediately after the emergency was declared, there had been a recent spate of attacks, blamed on Boko Haram, which had left some 160 people dead.
Leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, had reportedly claimed Boko Haram was winning the war against Nigerian military in a recent video, where it equally claimed responsibility for the recent attacks in different communities in Borno and Yobe states, including Malumfatori, Bama, Biu, Konduga, Gamboru Ngala, Gwoza and Damaturu.
Shekau, who reportedly spoke in Hausa amidst intermittent triumphant laughter in the video, said “the military is lying to the world about the battle we had with them; they lied that they have killed our members, but we are the ones that have killed the soldiers. So we are winning on either side.”
But Moro said these were the “desperate antics” of a group trying to show it was still relevant.
The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, corroborated Moro’s views, noting that the sect was now isolated and being chased from the three states where state of emergency was in operation.
He accused the insurgents of hiding in the bush and killing people going to the farm, noting that the approach would ultimately make the terrorists to become more unpopular.
The minister, who spoke when he appeared before National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples; Democratic Party (PDP) at Wadata House, Abuja, however, noted that the government could not win the war against terror only by instrument of weapons, stating that “we also have to win the hearts of the people.”
Maku disclosed that the government had succeeded in winning the political and moral argument against Boko Haram through what he attributed to as consistent information strategies.
He maintained that terrorism was not about North or Islam, while admitting that activities of the sect had damaged the reputation of the country.