"We state authoritatively without any fear or equivocation whatsoever
that Nigeria is already winning the war against terror and the activities of
the insurgents will be terminated within the shortest possible time," said
Doyin Okupe, a presidential spokesman, at a press conference in the Nigerian
capital Abuja on Tuesday.
Okupe added that the country’s troops launched an offensive against Boko
Haram and were "on top of the situation."
He also said many of the militants have been pushed from unban regions to the
remote areas near the border or even outside the country.
"The Nigerian military is prevented from pursuing them into these foreign
territories by law and international conventions and this obviously gives
continuous respite to the insurgents," Okupe said.
Meanwhile, the governor of the northeastern Borno state warned of the threats
by the militants there.
"Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to
defeat Boko Haram," Kashim Shettima said.
On May 15, the Nigerian army launched an offensive against the militant group
a day after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the
three northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.
Boko Haram -- whose name means “Western education is forbidden” -- says its
goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb
attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.
Over the past four-and-a-half years, violence in the north of Africa’s most
populous country has claimed the lives of more than 3,600 people, including
killings by the security forces.
