Military has more sophisticated weapons than terrorists, Badaru replies lawmaker

Mohammed Badaru, minister of defence, has countered claims by Ahmed Jaha, a member of the house of representatives, that terrorist groups wield more sophisticated weapons than the country’s military.

Jaha spoke on Tuesday while contributing to a motion sponsored by Ahmad Satomi on the “escalating” attacks on military formations in Borno and Yobe states.

He said the terrorists in the country are deploying armed drones which the Nigerian Army is not using.

However, speaking on Wednesday during a ministerial briefing in Abuja, Badaru said that the Nigerian military has far superior weapons and technology than any terrorist group in the country.

“Yesterday, the house of representatives said that the terrorists have better weapons than us,” Badaru said.

“That is absolutely not true. We have much more sophisticated weapons, and we have much more sophisticated drones.”

He noted that the current challenge is not the lack of firepower but the unpredictable tactics used by terrorists, who are often aided by locals.

The minister noted that terror groups were not making use of weaponised or military-grade variants but modified civilian drones.

He assured Nigerians that the military was improving its intelligence efforts both locally and internationally to track and eliminate their supply sources.

“The issue is this war is not a conventional war. It’s like a guerrilla war. They watch us; they have informants around us,” he added.

“They help the people that we try to protect, and they give them information, then they jump at us the way we don’t expect when they know that our surveillance mechanism is watching other directions.

“Out of 53 companies operating within the complex, 10 have already begun producing military-grade hardware, including drones, aircraft components, and protective gear.

“Most of them are at various stages of constructing their factories.

“About 10 of these companies have already commenced production, including the manufacturing of drones, aircraft components, personal computers, helmets, safety vests, and other equipment.”