BOKO HARAM - Goodluck Jonathan Ddmitted His Government Underestimated the Islamist Sect

The president, who spoke when he appeared on the African Independent Television (AIT) programme Kaakaki, admitted that his government underestimated the Islamist sect, but with the increased capacity of the military, which had taken possession of more than 65 per cent of the military hardware required to rout the group, he stated that the remaining territories still under the control of the terrorists would soon be recaptured.

“At the beginning, probably we did not really estimate the capacity of Boko Haram. It is obvious. Boko Haram started as a non-violent group led by (Mohammed) Yusuf, limited to around Maiduguri area and parts of Yobe. They had not even spread to Adamawa.

“Just like every group of youths or young people who are criminally inclined, over the period they expanded their network and linked up with other terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda and other similar brands in the world.

“So they continued to build their capacity and it got to a point that for you to tackle them in the kind of environment they operate, you need some specialised equipment and we don’t manufacture these equipment. That is why the strategy changed. So it was not deliberate,” he said. (Leadership)