Buratai: Boko Haram no longer in control of any territory in Nigeria

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says the Boko Haram sect is no longer in control of any territory in the country.

He said this on Tuesday during the graduation of 55 soldiers from Advance Water Markship Training in Jaji, Kaduna state.

He said the insurgents have suffered high degradation since 2015 till date.

He added that the 55 soldiers would be included in the amphibious battalion which would soon be established to tackle the insurgents in the Lake Chad.

“You are all aware of the ongoing event in the country especially the security landscape between 2013 to mid 2015; I am referring to the situation in the north-east where a band of insurgents, employing terror, held sway over nearly the entire region, including large part of the north-central and north-western parts of the country,” he said.

“However, between middle 2015 to date, the insurgency and terrorist elements have suffered the high degradation, they no longer hold any territory within our sovereign states.

“This is due to correct strategies, employment and disposition of the right force with the tremendous backing of the Commander-in-chief, President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the good will of the citizens contributed immensely to the successes achieved so far.

“There is no gainsaying that the focus on effective training adopted in the last 3 years has been the heart of our successes.

“It is pertinent to say that lessons learnt from our counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations have to a large extent guided our training and our operational planning.”