Interrogating Defence Minister’s Declaration of Victory over Terrorists, Bandits – THISDAYLIVE

A new chapter may be unfolding in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and banditry as  Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa’s declaration of victory signals growing confidence, renewed hope, and a potentially decisive turning point in the nation’s security efforts, writes Linus Aleke.

The declaration by the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), that Nigeria has achieved victory over terrorists and bandits deserves to be examined not merely as a political statement, but against the operational realities and measurable gains recorded by the Nigerian security forces.

Interestingly, this is not the first time the Federal Government has declared victory over the rampaging and bloodthirsty violent extremists operating in the country.

In December 2015, the late President Muhammadu Buhari declared that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated”, following major territorial gains by Nigerian forces against the insurgents. In an interview with the BBC on 24 December 2015, Buhari said technically, the Nigerian military had won the war against Boko Haram, explaining that the insurgents could no longer mount conventional attacks against security forces or population centres and had been restricted largely to the use of improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The declaration followed a major military campaign that had recovered territories previously held by the insurgents. Contemporary reports therefore presented Buhari’s assessment as a claim of technical victory rather than an assertion that every Boko Haram fighter or attack had ceased.

Still in December 2015, the then Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, similarly declared that the Federal Government had “largely won” the war against Boko Haram. Speaking after leading a team of 33 local and…