The recent bombings of some communities in the North-eastern part of the country are acts of desperation rather than resurgence of insurgency, the Federal Government has said.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who gave this explanation at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, insisted that the terror group had been degraded and were desperate to prove otherwise through bombing of soft targets.

He said, “Now, the current bombings by the degraded Boko Haram will not surprise anyone who is conversant with the ebb and flow of insurgency. During the immediate period after an insurgency has been degraded, the fact that terrorists are dispersed into the community is often followed by an upsurge of terror attacks in the form of suicide bombing and sabotage of critical facilities.

“Activities during this period are often carried out within population and against soft targets or vulnerable groups. There is often apprehension in the community that terrorism is getting worse, even though, in reality, insurgency has been weakened as a cohesive terror force. This is the current phase of insurgency in the country.

“There is no resurgence of Boko Haram. The terrorists remain massively degraded and largely defeated. The recent string of attacks is not an indication that Boko Haram is bouncing back. We warned that the terrorists would resort to attacking soft targets, which are highly vulnerable places like motor parks, entertainment and worship centres, markets, etc.”

Credit: Punch