All the territory seized by Islamist militants Boko Haram in Nigeria will be reclaimed within a month, said President Goodluck Jonathan in an exclusive interview with the BBC.
“They are getting weaker and weaker by the day,” he told the broadcaster.
“I’m very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories that hitherto have been in their [Boko Haram's] hands.”
Boko Haram is fighting for an Islamist state in West Africa and has used increasing force to maintain its hold on the territories it captured last year. But, a multi-national offensive has mounted an attack in effort to uproot the militants before Nigeria’s general election.
The military, working with Chad, Niger and Cameroon forces, has made strides in the conflict recently, claiming it had pushed out Boko Haram from Yobe and Adamawa – two of the three worst affected northern states.
Jonathan admitted the Nigerian military has under-estimated Boko Haram, and troops lacked the resources to fight them. He told the BBC the army had now acquired the equipment needed to battle the militants.
The President has been criticized for his failure to stop the violence in the past, but he has refused to admit he made any mistakes.
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