Boko Haram: Buhari Admits Soldiers Suffering ‘Lots Of Casualties’

President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted that troops of the Nigerian Army have suffered a lot of casualties in the ongoing fight against insurgency in North East Nigeria.

Buhari stated this during an exclusive Arise TV interview monitored by THE WHISTLER on Thursday morning.

The president said problems facing the North East are daunting, but pledge the military’s commitment to addressing them.

He said, “I have serious meetings with the service chiefs and the whole security apparatus has changed as you know. First, I allowed them to go around and see the position on the ground, they made changes in their offices and commands and the men.

“We told them we want competence to be rebuilt. We want people to go back to the land so we don’t have food problem. We don’t want to give it publicity, we don’t want to make them aware that we will taking them head on, I think those on the field know, they have been suffering a lot of casualties

“The problem of the North East is difficult. The present governor [of Borno State] is working very hard, He is taking a lot of risk. And I asked him, this Boko Haram are they our people or foreigners, he said they are Nigerians. You cannot kill innocent people and say God is great,” he said.

He attributed the upsurge in insecurity to unemployment, adding that, “We have a problem with a lot of youth looking for what to eat, not even to talk about accommodation and the level of poverty is almost unimaginable”.

He said the high level of poverty in the country was unimaginable and had greatly contributed the rise of insecurity in the North East and across the country.

Speaking on eliminating banditry, he noted that country had changed the entire security apparatus and that the security chiefs had been ordered to rebuild competence in their various areas of assignment.