President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted to the embarrassment brought on his administration by the continued deadly attacks by the Boko Haram insurgency groups despite claims by it that the terrorists have been defeated.
Buhari, who promised to flush out the insurgents within few months of his administration and had said in December that the group had been ‘technically’ defeated, find it embarrassing that the mindless killers have conitnued to attacks on soft targets.
Buhari said on Sunday said that Boko Haram sect was embarrassing his government with their renewed onslaught against the people of the north-east.
He spoke through a statement by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
There have been a recrudescence of attacks by the terrorists group in recent days with suicide bombings in Chibok market, Dolari Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) camp in Borno State and the Gombi market in Adamawa State in the passing week.
Buhari sees the recent attacks as acts of desperation and attempts to gain public sympathy and attention having suffered terribly in the hands of Nigerian military.
According to the president, the terrorists have been rendered weak, confused and homeless after repeated bombings and ravaging of their camps and hide outs by the military, forcing them to find their way back into the society to wreak havoc, like the case of the Dolari IDP.
The President also thinks that the locals should shoulder more responsibility in ensuring that the insurgents do not strike again, urging the residents of the northeast region to be more vigilant since the materials for the Improvised Explosive Devices are locally sourced.
He said, “Having lost the war, they are seeking ways and means to gradually find their way back into society. They are not returning to contribute but to cause more havoc. They are so desperate to embarrass the government and the people that they have no qualms attacking isolated communities and markets.
“I urge all citizens wherever they live to own the war against terror and to be part of the fight because it is the only way we can finish the remaining work that needs to be done to make our country safe again,” the President said.
The president “extended his condolences to all the people of Chibok, Gombi and Dolari who lost loved ones in the recent attacks and prayed that the Almighty God will comfort them and grant the injured persons quick recovery.”
