President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria has “technically won the war” against Boko Haram.
The president told the BBC that the militant group could no longer mount “conventional attacks” against security forces or population centres.
According to him, Boko Haram has been reduced to fighting with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and remained a force only in its heartland of Borno State.
President Buhari told the BBC that the jihadists had been forced to cut back on suicide bombings as a result of the military action against them.
“Boko Haram has reverted to using improvised explosive devices (IEDs)”, he said.
“Indoctrinating young guys, they have now been reduced to that.
“But articulated conventional attacks on centres of communication and populations, they are no longer capable of doing that effectively.
“So I think technically we have won because people are going back into their neighbourhoods”, the president added.