Boko Haram terrorists not in charge of any local government in Nigeria, CDS Irabor says

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, says there is no local government area in Nigeria under the control of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists.

Mr Irabor who admitted that almost some local government areas in Borno and Adamawa were under the control of Boko Haram, noted that “currently, Boko Haram is not in control of any local government.”

He spoke at the 21st Century Chronicle Roundtable with the theme: “Going for Broke: Fighting Insecurity in Nigeria”, on Wednesday in Abuja.

He recalled that a state of emergency was imposed on a number of local governments in the North-East in the past, especially in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

According to him, the measures taken at that time were necessary as the country had protocol outlined to manage such a crisis.

“Nigerians need to understand the basis of our involvement and the basis are internal confrontations.

The CDS also said the security challenges in the country had been politicised.

According to him, the politicisation of the military approach became so profound that the good intentions of the military were skewed.

Mr Irabor blamed the insecurity in the country on the Libyan crisis, which according to him, led to the free flow of arms through Nigeria’s porous borders.

As of October 2021, Suleiman Chikuba, the chairman of Shiroro Local Government Area told reporters that five hundred communities, domiciled in eight political wards in Niger State were under the command of Boko Haram terrorists who have dislodged the Nigerian civil authority.

President Muhammadu Buhari had also blamed Boko Haram for the takeover of the local government area, saying insurgents took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to unleash fresh terror attacks and take over some communities.