FACT CHECK: Buhari Falsely Claims North East Facing ‘Occasional Boko Haram Problems’

Even though available reports suggest otherwise, President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed that Boko Haram attacks in the northern part of the country occur occasionally.

Buhari made the claim while receiving officials of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), led by its Executive Secretary, Rev. Yakubu Pam, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

Buhari’s Declaration

“What was the situation when we came? Try and ask people from Borno or from Adamawa for that matter and Yobe. What was the condition before we came and what is the condition now?

“Still, there are problems in Borno and Yobe, there are occasional Boko Haram problems, but they know the difference because a lot of them moved out of their states and moved to Kaduna, Kano and here (in Abuja),” the President’s senior media adviser, Femi Adesina, quoted his principal to have said.

The President Lied

But checks by THE WHISTLER have shown that Buhari’s claim that Boko Haram attacks in the region were “occasional” is not true. Findings showed that out of the twelve months in 2020, only July and September did not record Boko Haram attacks in the region.

A market in Gamboru, Borno State, came under attack on January 6, 2020, when the insurgents detonated a bomb and killed no fewer than 38 persons.

The insurgents reportedly killed 30 passengers in Auno, Borno State, on February 9, 2020, by setting ablaze several vehicles conveying them.

Aljazeera reported how Boko Haram killed at least 50 Nigerian soldiers in an ambush near Goneri village in Borno State on March 23, 2020.

Amchide, a town bordering Borno and Cameroon, was attacked on April 6, 2020. The insurgents reportedly killed seven civilians in a bomb blast.

On May 18 and June 9, the terrorists killed 81 and 20 persons during separate attacks on Gajigana and Gubio, respectively.

ISWAP had also killed at least 20 soldiers in Monguno and more than 40 civilians in Nganzai on June 13.

A grenade attack by Boko Haram also reportedly killed at least 18 people on August 2 in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Nguetchewe – a village tucked between Borno and Adamawa states and Lake Chad.

Few months ago, over 110 rice farmers were said to have been slaughtered on their farms by the insurgents. The attack occurred on November 28 in Koshebe, Borno State.

A Christmas Eve attack in Pemi, a mainly Christian village in Borno, left no fewer than 11 people dead. On the same day, the insurgents reportedly kidnapped 50 wood loggers in Wulgo forest, Borno State, while killing three people.

These attacks recorded in 2020 therefore put in dispute Buhari’s claim that the insurgents occasionally carry out attacks in the northeast.

The president had made the claim while calling on his critics to be fair in their criticisms, saying his administration had made significant progress in terms of security and economy when compared to when it took office in 2015.

“We had to struggle paying debts, investing in road repairs and rebuilding, to revamp the rail and try to get power. This is what I hope the elite when they want to criticise will use to compare notes,” Buhari said.