The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has stated that he still stands by his 2015 claim of Boko Haram being technically defeated.
Lai Mohammed who spoke during a working visit to the new corporate headquarters of “The Sun” Newspaper in Lagos on Monday October 21, said that what Nigeria is currently fighting is global terrorism where you have the ISIS, ISWAP and Al-qaeda all working together.
“I stand by what I said that Boko Haram is technically defeated.
“What we are having today is global terrorism where you have the ISIS, ISWAP Al-qaeda all working together.
“Terrorism is a global issue. Between 2009 and 2015 we were fighting Boko Haram, but today we are fighting global terrorism where the remnants of the Army in Syria are now joining hands with the ISWAP and others,” he said.
He also disclosed that he made the claim of Boko Haram being technically defeated based on what he saw after leading a team of local and international journalists to the epicentre of insurgency in 2015.
“I was on ground in Bama, Konduga and Maiduguri and I know what I saw before I made that claim.
“We are fighting global terrorism and that is why we are appealing to our foreign partners, especially the UN and our neighbours.
“By the time we get more platforms and the new helicopters that are being expected there will be tremendous improvement” Lai said.