Two senior Nigerian intelligence officials have voiced optimism that their operation against Boko Haram will end in the group’s total defeat.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council think-tank, the officials said that Boko Haram will no longer control any territory by the March 28 elections. Nigeria’s elections were postponed to March 28th when the government claimed not to have enough troops to guard voting polls.
Since the unprecedented joint offensive was launched last month, Nigeria has maintained that its troops were controlling operations. However, a perception that Nigeria was failing to deal with the militants alone and a growing number of cross-border attacks, prompted Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon to launch their existing operation to try to contain the militants.
Nigeria has battled Boko Haram since 2009, mostly in the northeast. Thousands of people have been killed, injured and displaced in the fight. Women, children and some men have been kidnapped so as to help them carry out their atrocities.
