TheCable

The Nigerian military says it is impossible for Boko Haram to have a rocket-manufacturing factory in Bama, Borno state, as revealed on Monday by the BBC.

“An inscription on one of the machines shows the abbreviation of Government Technical College Bama (GTCB). The equipment appears to have been donated to the college by the Educational Trust Fund (ETF) in 2005,” BBC had said in its report.

“They were sent as a Whatsapp messages to the BBC Hausa service using a telephone number from Cameroon, and have also been published on sites linked to the Islamic State (IS), which Boko Haram has joined.”

However, Sani Usman spokesman of the army, has maintained that the said town had long been captured by the military.

“Bama was recaptured by 21 Brigade Nigerian army on March 16, 2015 from the Boko Haram terrorists,” he said in response to inquiries from TheCable.

“They went further to also recapture Banki from the terrorists. In fact, the chief of army staff was with the troops in Bama last Friday. So what are you talking about? Please do not give to the desperate antics of Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers.”

In its official reaction, the defence headquarters said recent images released by the insurgents were nothing but “empty threats”, which cannot prevent the group from being defeated.

It said Boko Haram was only trying to create tension and make people believe that they are still active.

“In recent times, there were some clips about the bomb factory released by Boko Haram terrorists in order to create apprehension and panic in our innocent citizens and to prove that they are still very much alive to their unholy, barbaric and unethical conduct,” the military said in a statement issued late Tuesday.

“For avoidance of doubt, this and other tactics are nothing but empty threats which will not help them from being defeated. This shows that the terrorist are true enemies of Nigerians therefore we must collectively condemn and stand firm to finish them.

“The military is following them step by step, with a view to crushing them while avoiding human and collateral damage in line with our rules of engagement, code of conduct and standard operational procedure.”