The Federal Government on Monday reacted to claims made by the Islamic State on attacks number of deaths caused by Boko Haram in the last two months.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the claims as a hoax, saying the imaginary figures were part of ISIS strategy to shore up the morale of its dispersed and defeated fellow terrorists in Nigeria.
He said ”Apart from these fake figures, we are aware of the planned release of old videos of Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria through the terrorists’ preferred channel to give the impression that they have continued to carry out spectacular attacks. Those videos are neither recent nor genuine.
”The ISIS/Boko Haram propaganda is being deliberately timed to coincide with the December 31, 2015 deadline issued to the military by the President to decimate the terrorists, and is also aimed at distracting the military and striking at its all-time high morale.
”But the truth of the matter is that the capability of the military has improved drastically, and there is a higher level of awareness among Nigerians concerning the war against terrorism, which has led them (Nigerians) to increase their support for the troops on the frontline and to also win the war.
”Therefore, the figures being pushed out by ISIS on behalf of Boko Haram represent nothing but a figment of the terrorists’ imagination. We recently visited Bama, from where they once ran their phony Caliphate, but all we saw were gallant troops holding sway. We even shared a delicious lunch of ‘balango’ (a kind of suya) and soft drinks with the troops.
”We therefore wonder where the terrorists have been carrying out their so-called spectacular attacks, as indicated by ISIS, when indeed the capability of the shameless cowards has been so degraded that all they can do now is to target innocent women and children, using equally innocent children and women as their bomb carriers.”
