President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said that Boko Haram’s recent methods of using innocent children for suicide bomb attacks on soft targets are “the last kicks of a dying horse.”
The President said this at the commissioning of the Pulaaku Radio Station in Yola, Adamawa.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammedreiterated that Boko Haram had been degraded.
“Let me be clear, Boko Haram has been massively degraded and its surviving members put on the run. Instead of being hunters, they are now the hunted.
“In their desperation to stay relevant, they have resorted to the wicked and dastardly act of using innocent under-aged children to carry out suicide bomb attacks. What we are witnessing now are the last kicks of a dying horse.
“A dying horse manages to engage in some kicks. These kicks may be dangerous, but they don’t last long. Progressively, they become weaker and weaker until the horse finally gives up.’’
Buhari said that the war had moved to the next phase, which would be intelligence-driven.
In carrying out the second phase of the war, the President said he had approved the establishment of an intelligence fusion centre in Maiduguri.
He said the centre which will gather and share intelligence among security agencies in the country will go a long way in ending the campaign of suicide bombing.
According to him, the commissioning of the Radio Station is therefore, timely as it is needed to leverage information and communication to rev up the intelligence-driven phase of the war against terror.
The President called on the media, especially radio and television to continue to play their part by offering their platforms to communicate useful information to the populace.
He said the government will also build on the nationwide campaign inaugurated in 2016, with the payoff line: “If you see something, say something’’.
“It simply means that we need everyone to be involved in getting the necessary information to tackle the terrorists.
“They are not ghosts, and some of them live among us.
“We must all, therefore, support our gallant troops, many of whom have made the supreme sacrifice in this war, by providing information that can help rid our communities of terrorists,’’ he said.
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