Despite renewed attacks by Boko Haram, Nigerian military is insisting there is no resurgence.
Responding to questions on the perceived resurgence of the terror group, the director of Defense Information, John Enenche, told BusinessDay in Abuja that Boko Haram had been defeated and had no hold on the country anymore.
In December last year, President Muhammadu Buhari had announced the capture of Sambisa forest and the defeat of Boko Haram. But barely two months later, there seems to be a resurgence of attacks by the terrorist group, fuelling fears that they may have just retreated to regroup.
The country has also witnessed renewed attacks by herdsmen, even as Boko Haram attacks return in high numbers in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.
From 2010, the Boko Haram group has been at war with the Nigerian state. They launched their attack in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, killing and destroying properties.
In 2015, the military waged serious war against them, which led to recapturing of many towns including Gwoza, which was their administrative base.
To win the 2015 presidential election, Buhari, a former military leader, promised Nigerians that he would end the war within three months in office. But after announcing that the Nigerian Army had “technically” defeated the insurgents, they seem to be back in full force.
“No, there is no resurgence. How can you say there is resurgence? Do we have any single local government under Boko Haram now? The answer is No. There is no resurgence of Boko Haram activity. What you are seeing now are sleeper cells, splinter activities, they have been defeated and the place is now fully dominated by the armed forces of Nigeria, with the Nigerian Army as the lead service there.
“You don’t see them having freedom of action. What you see now is hit and run activity. It is criminality you are seeing now. They no longer have a coordinated operation. You look at it that there is resurgence but operationally there is no resurgence.
“Was it possible to travel from Baga to Mongunu before July 2015? No. What we have now are skirmishes of activities to just to show that they are still relevant,” Enenche said.
Commenting on the concerns raised by the Kogi State government, on the state becoming a safe haven for Boko Haram, the major general said, “We have machinery in place to check the movement of criminals or people who want to terrorise people from one part of the country to another through information gathering.
“What the Kogi State governor meant by becoming a safe haven for Boko Haram, I will not say it is really a safe haven but people who are potential Boko Haram terrorists, who have Boko Haram tendencies to do such things, and from the operational analysis that we have done from the armed forces, so it is a proactive action and proactive statement.
“In the hay days of Boko Haram activities, that is before July 2015, there was active presence of Boko Haram – like the attack on Deeper Life Church that they claim responsibility, among others, but now you don’t see such things.
“Normal strategy demands that we need to be proactive, where you notice suspicious movement and actions, that is what the governor meant. We have proactive measures in place that is why we have intensified intelligence sharing and gathering, and we are getting some good level of cooperation.
“All over, we have an operation called ‘operation iron fence.’ We have checkpoints along the road. We have information gathering machinery within the operation iron fence to ensure that the activities of Boko Haram don’t move from one state to another. The operation is all over the country,” he said.
