I Was Forced To Declare Boko Haram “Technically Defeated” – Lai Mohammed

In the backdrop of the criticism aimed at the Federal Government for applying and approving the withdrawal of N2 billion from the Excess Crude Account, ECA, for the sole purpose of fighting terrorism and insurgency which they claim has been technically defeated earlier in the year, the information minister Lai Muhammed claim he was forced to declare Boko Haram “technically defeated”.

Nigerians were very shocked on Friday when the Information Minister who once declared that Boko Haram had been defeated, raised an alarm of a plot by the rag-tag insurgents to launch deadly attacks on Nigerians, in the coming weeks and months.

In a statement, Lai said that members of the Muslim Brotherhood cell based in Kogi State, who had fought along Islamic State Libya, are planning to acquire bomb-making chemicals and high-calibre weapons to perpetrate acts of terror, including attacks on banks, arms depots, and prisons.

The group is an affiliate of the dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram, and its Nigerian cell is allegedly based in Kogi State, in North-Central Nigeria.

“One Usman, an IED apprentice, left the cell some time back to join Islamic State, in Libya. The new desire to acquire IED precursor chemicals could suggest that Usman or other persons, may have returned from Libya and have acquired IED-making skills intended to increase the activities of the group”, he said.

The Minister, said intelligence also revealed that the group was making serious efforts to acquire sophisticated arms, including shoulder-fired rocket launchers.

However, he was asked on why he declared before that bokoharam has been defeated, he said that what he said was true and since the evidence is very clear as he obtained from chief of army staff,he came forward to announce the good work of the military

Concerning the alarm he recently raised, he also said that Further intelligence monitoring has revealed that members of the Muslim Brotherhood, are planning to forcefully free their members who are in detention in Kogi, Abuja, and Kaduna, including one Bilyaminu, an IED Expert for the group, who is now at Kuje prison”, he added.