Boko Haram too weak to recapture towns – Defence spokesman

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Col. Rabe Abubakar, has assured Nigerians that the Boko Haram insurgents lacked the capacity to retake towns under the control of the military.

Abubakar said, during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, that the troops were in top form to carry out the statutory responsibility of protecting the territorial integrity of the country against the insurgents.

He stressed that the military was committing a lot to ensure the timely eradication of the Boko Haram insurgency and the scourge of terrorism in the country.

The Acting Defence Spokesman appealed to the citizenry to appreciate the efforts of the military, especially the current headway being made in the anti-terror war.

According to him, so many of the camps of the insurgents had been captured and removed by the troops involved in the operation.

He said the military was intensifying ground and aerial offensive against the insurgents said to be in disarray.

He said, "We are making extra efforts, we have been coordinating ground and air forces to go after them. A lot of their hideouts and camps have been completely wiped out. They are in disarray, and have no central command; the next thing is just to do mop up.

"We should endeavour to appreciate the efforts of the military; we are making a lots of headway.

"Boko Haram is not strong enough to hold any town. Remember that we have a formidable force, not only on ground but also in the air. Very soon, this issue of whether they are in control or not would come to the view of everybody because they are not in control."

Abubakar noted that the service chiefs were in Maiduguri, the theatre of operation, to ensure that the Boko Haram threat was removed completely from the country.