Television Nigerian

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said on Thursday that the Buhari administration has succeeded in clipping some of the tactics of Boko Haram insurgents.

Speaking at a meeting with the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigerian (NPAN) in Lagos, Mohammed said the occupation of territories in the country by insurgents is now “a thing of the past”.

“Now, let’s put things in context. Before Mr. President assumed office, Boko Haram could stroll into any city, especially in the north, to carry out deadly attacks. Abuja, the nation’s capital, Kano, Maiduguri, Jos, Damaturu, etc were regularly targeted,” he said.

“Motor parks, churches, mosques, shopping complexes were not spared. Today, that is a thing of the past. Suicide bombers used to have a field day detonating their bombs and killing innocent people.

“Today, that is no longer the case. Detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used to be a deadly tactic of Boko Haram. Today, that has changed.

“Boko Haram used to occupy territory, deposing and installing Emirs and collecting taxes. That’s no longer the case. These changes are not mere happenstance. They are part of the successes recorded by the military, under this president.”

At least 43 rice farmers had their throats slit by the insurgents on Saturday in Zabarmari community in Borno.

The minister said those asking the president to resign over insecurity are “playing dirty politics”.

The Defence Headquarters has dismissed the claim by the Boko Haram terrorists that the recent massacre of rice farmers in Borno was retaliation for the arrest of one of them.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, said this while giving an update on the operations of the armed forces between November 26 and December 2 on Thursday in Abuja.

The terrorist group had on Tuesday released a video claiming that the terrorists carried out the massacre in retaliation for the arrest of one of them by the farmers.

They also claimed that the farmers had also given information on their movement in the area to the military.

Enenche said the claim was the practice of the sect with the sole motive of instigating fear in the minds of the people to discourage them from cooperating with the security agencies.

He said that the information received by the military from one of the survivors revealed that the farmers were called for a meeting with the terrorists on the sad day before they were slaughtered.

“The truth is that whenever they are losing ground as a result of the military activities, this is what they resort to.

“It is a fallacy because we killed one of them and that the farmers gave information about them, but the likelihood is wickedness.

“They want to use that to instill fear in the minds of the people because they have seen the governor trying to make sure that people return to their homes,” he said.

Enenche said the claim was the usual propaganda of the terrorist, adding that it is one of their major weapons.

“Our message here to the general public is that they should not be discouraged and that we are moving forward and with your cooperation, we are going to end this menace,” he said.

Enenche said the military had sustained its onslaught against the terrorists through both ground and air offensives across the theatre of operation.

He said the troops had raided some of the identified hideouts of the terrorists killing scores during the week and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.

(NAN)