Biafra: Why Nigeria Can Never Defeat Boko Haram - IPOB's Nnamdi Kanu

 

The leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, on Monday, asserted that the Nigerian government cannot defeat the terrorist group, Boko Haram because "they are busy looking for other things", Allnews reports.

Reacting to a 2015 statement credited to the President of Chad Republic, Idriss Deby, that “Nigeria is absent in the fight against Boko Haram”, self-exiled Kanu, alleged that the Nigerian Armed Forces cannot concentrate in their legitimate work because they are busy perpetrating unprofessional conducts.

According to the controversial activist, it would be impossible for the army to defeat the insurgents 'because Nigeria as a country has never won any war on its own without foreign support'.

“Without Britain, Russia, and Egypt, Nigeria could not have prevailed over Biafra," Kanu was quoted to have said by Vanguard.

"How can the Nigerian Army be present when they are busy looking for other things? How can Buratai’s Nigerian Army be present when they are busy invading homes of innocent civilians and looking for unarmed citizens to deal with?

“Nigerian Army cannot be present to fight Boko Haram and other insurgents when they have turned soldiers into policemen manning multiple checkpoints in the peaceful South, collecting bribe with POS at roadblocks when they ought to be in the North fighting the terror groups there.

READ ALSO: Biafra: Nnamdi Kanu's Press Secretary Roasts Presidency (See Why)

“Nigerian Army cannot be present when it is made up of the same terrorists they are expected to fight.

"Nigeria has never won any war on its own without outside help.

"How therefore can any sensible person expect them to defeat Boko Haram?”

Since 2009, Boko Haram activities have resulted in about 20,000 to 30,000 fatalities and over 2.3 million population displaced from their homes.

At its peak periods, that is between 2010 and 2015, the group seized a large swath of territories in north-eastern Nigeria, including major cities such as Maiduguri, Mubi, and Gwoza as well as constituted a significant threat to the Nigerian state (Febab-Brown 2018).

Overall, an estimated 15 million people have been severally affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Their fighters continue to attack and kill civilians in villages and towns, abducting thousands of people, forcibly marrying off women and girls to their fighters, and conduct mass-casualty terrorist attacks against worship places, markets, government property and camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In fact, they were reported to have attacked a village in Adamawa State on Monday night, destroying residential buildings and looting shops.

The terrorists attacked Kirchinga under Madagali Local Government Area of the state, razing no fewer than five houses. 

According to SaharaReporters, the terrorists in large numbers arrived at the village in pickup vans and motorcycles.

The Boko Haram fighters also shot an octogenarian in the leg before being repelled by troops of the Nigerian Army.

A resident said, "The devastation would have been worst but for the timely response by soldiers stationed in Kirchinga."

Commander of the troops in Madagali, Colonel Abdulsalam, also confirmed the attack. 

He said, "Yes, there was an attack but it was repelled successfully."