President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed that his government has weakened Boko Haram in reaction to a foiled attack carried out by the insurgents in Garkida, a town in Gombi local government area north of Adamawa State on Friday February 21.
In a statement released on Sunday February 23 by Buhari’s media aide Garba Shehu, the President said the attacks on soft targets by the terrorists are obvious signs of frustration because his administration has significantly weakened Boko Haram’s capability to invade and hold any Nigerian territory unchallenged.
President Buhari said “These attacks on soft targets by terrorists are obvious signs of frustration because my administration has significantly weakened Boko Haram’s military capability to invade and hold Nigerian territory unchallenged. Our gallant forces deserve our appreciation for repelling the attackers but they must go beyond this point. They have our full support to go after the terrorists and have them pay a huge price. I want to assure the country that terrorists will continue to face the combined power of our military until they give up their mistaken ways. These occasional and episodic attacks on poor civilians by terrorists are mere propaganda efforts to portray them as strong in order to fool the public into believing that they haven’t been militarily weakened our gallant troops. Security will continue to be well funded despite the competing needs of social services. I appeal to Nigerians to continue to support our troops in their gallant efforts to protect the citizens and secure the country.”