"Boko Haram Is Getting Weaker" - Nigerian Military

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Wednesday said the killings of
scores ofpeople in Borno and Yobe in the past few days are signs that
the Boko Haramterrorists are losing the battle against government
forces.
The military said the trend of sneaking in to carry out isolated
attacks on soft targets as a way of seeking attention is a typical
end-game strategy often employed by insurgents all over the world.
Seven secondary school students and two teachers were killed in
Damaturu, the Yobe State capital when gunmen, believed to be Boko
Haram, attacked a government school on Sunday. A day later, suspected
Boko Haram gunmen attacked two different locations, a school and a
fishing village, in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, killing nine
students and 13 fishermen.
In a statement signed by the Director ofDefence Information, Brigadier
General Chris Olukolade, the Nigerian military said the recent
activities are signs of desperation of a decimated insurgent group
attempting to hang on to public consciousness.
With the destruction of their operationalbases and camps by the
Special Forces, the group's centre of gravity had been effectively
dislocated, he said. He said this had made it impossible for the
terrorists to have freedom of action to operate as they did
previously.
The military also said eight of the suspected terrorists have been
apprehended in the outskirts of Maiduguri.
The statement said Special Forces have stepped up the mop-up, cordon
and search operations "to ensure that the vestiges of terrorism are
effectively decimated.
"The DHQ has noted a number of attacks and killing of innocent
citizens ostensibly carried out by terrorists in Yobe and Borno in the
last couple of days.
"Although this isolated incidents were undertaken by relocating
terrorists, the whole trend and development remains unfortunate and
condemnable.
"Nevertheless, the public is hereby reassured that these incidences
are by no means indicative of a relapse in the counter-insurgency
operation aimed at curbing terrorists' activities in the country."
The military, however, urged the public to continue to report any
suspicious movement to security agents.