ABOVE PHOTO: President Muhammadu Buhari receiving delegations from Columbia at state house on 12/10/2015
President Muhammadu Buhari said
Wednesday in Abuja that he remained fully confident that by the end of
this year, Boko Haram's ability to attack, seize, ravage and hold any
Nigerian territory will have been completely obliterated.
Buhari stated this several hours after
four people were killed when three suicide bombers blew themselves up in
a suburb of the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the army said
on Wednesday.
"The explosions occurred at
three-minute intervals and seven people were confirmed dead, including
the three suicide terrorists," said army spokesman Colonel Sani
Usman. Eleven others sustained "various degrees of injuries", he added.
Speaking at an audience with the
Commander of United States Africa Command, Gen David Rodriguez,
President Buhari said that with greater support from his administration
in terms of improved training, equipment, logistics and welfare, the
Nigerian Armed Forces were now well positioned to meet the December
deadline which they have been given to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
In a State House Press Release dated 14 October 2015 and signed by Femi Adesina, Special
Adviser to the President, (Media & Publicity), the President seized
the opportunity of General Rodriquez's visit to restate his
appreciation of the United States' support for Nigeria's efforts to
overcome terrorism and insurgency.
"We must thank the United States of
America for sending training teams and equipment to us. The positive
results of our collaboration are evident.
"Structured attacks by the insurgents
have reduced and by the end of the year, we should see the final routing
of Boko Haram as an organized fighting force, " the President said.
President Buhari appealed, however,
for greater cooperation from the United States in securing the Gulf
of Guinea through which stolen Nigerian crude oil is shipped abroad.
Decrying the severe revenue losses which
Nigeria suffers from crude oil theft, President Buhari said that his
administration was determined to end this criminal practice and would
welcome more support from the international community in this regard.
General Rodriguez told President Buhari
that he was in the country to strengthen Nigeria/United States
military relations, and also explore further options for assisting the
Multinational Joint Task Force established by Nigeria and her
neighbours, to fight Boko Haram.
At
least 1,320 people have been killed in attacks blamed on Boko Haram
militants since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in May 2015
(AFP Photo/)
The jihadist group Boko Haram has been
blamed for a spate of attacks in Maiduguri and the wider northeast,
aiming at "soft" civilian targets such as mosques, markets and bus
stations.
Yesterday's blasts happened in quick
succession in the Ajilari Cross area of the city from 8:10 pm (1910 GMT)
on Tuesday, according to local residents. Ajilari Cross, located close
to Maiduguri Airport and a military base on a main route into the city,
has been targeted twice in the last month in similar attacks.
On October 1, at least 10 people were
killed when four suicide bombers blew themselves up. On September 20, at
least 117 were killed in a wave of bomb attacks. More than 1,320 people
have now been killed in Boko Haram violence since Muhammadu Buhari
became president on May 29, according to an AFP tally.
The majority of attacks have been in
Borno state, of which Maiduguri is the capital, with this month seeing
an increase in the frequency of suicide bomb attacks.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up
in two satellite towns near the capital Abuja on October 2, killing 18.
The police on Tuesday said they had arrested the two suspected
masterminds.
Usman also said that 10 suspected
militants were killed on Tuesday when troops laid ambush to rebels who
attacked the military and Geidam town in the northeastern state of Yobe
last week. "They were ambushed while returning from an attack on Gajiram
near Ngollom village," he said.
Two suspected militants and a soldier
were killed while another soldier was wounded on Tuesday morning in
clashes at a location in Okene city in central Kogi state, Usman added
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