{"id":5667,"date":"2018-01-02T15:07:31","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T22:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/?p=5667"},"modified":"2018-01-05T22:18:03","modified_gmt":"2018-01-06T05:18:03","slug":"boko-haram-defeated-buhari-insists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/boko-haram-defeated-buhari-insists\/","title":{"rendered":"Boko Haram has been defeated, Buhari insists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0Jan 2, 2017:\u00a0Nigeria\u2019s President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday reiterated his administration\u2019s stance that the Boko Haram terror group has been defeated.\u00a0The president spoke in his New Year broadcast to Nigerians.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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\u201cWe have since beaten Boko Haram,\u201d he said. The president\u2019s statement appears a continuation of his controversial declaration in December 2015 that the insurgent group has been \u201ctechnically defeated\u201d.<\/p>\n
Since Buhari made the statement, hundreds of Nigerians have been killed in suicide attacks, and coordinated attacks on communities in the North-east region.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the president admitted that there were still \u201cisolated\u201d attacks by the terror group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsolated attacks still occur, but even the best-policed countries cannot prevent determined criminals from committing terrible acts of terror as we have seen during the past years in Europe, Asia, Middle East, elsewhere in Africa and in America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s claims come weeks after governors in the country approved the withdrawal of $1 billion from the country\u2019s excess crude account to fight Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
The federal government later explained that the money was meant to not only fight the terror group, but also address other security concerns across the country.<\/p>\n
That planned expenditure has however been criticised, including by Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti who questioned how such money would be used to fight a \u2018defeated\u2019 group.<\/p>\n
The army commander leading the fight against Boko Haram was also replaced recently in developments interpreted as a review of the strategy against the Islamist insurgents.<\/p>\n
The replacement came after \u2018embarrassing\u2019 attacks including the kidnapping of members of an oil prospecting team which led to at least 37 people being killed in July, and deadly assaults on the towns of Magumeri, Biu and Madagali.<\/p>\n