Lai Mohammed, Information Minister, has insisted that Boko Haram terrorists has been technically defeated.
Mr Mohammed had earlier claimed that the terrorists has been technically defeated during the first term of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Despite the claim, the terrorists are still carrying out attacks here and there. A federal lawmaker recently alleged that the terrorists has taken control of some parts of Borno State.
Restating his earlier position on the matter, Mohammed who visited the Sun Newspaper headquarters in Lagos on Monday said he stands by his comments on the terrorists.
The minister said terrorist attacks recently going on are from foreign based terror groups and not from Boko Haram.
“I stand by what I said that Boko Haram is technically defeated. What we are having today is global terrorism where you have the ISIS, ISWAP Al-qaeda all working together,” Mohammed said.
“Terrorism is a global issue. Between 2009 and 2015 we were fighting Boko Haram, but today we are fighting global terrorism where the remnants of the Army in Syria are now joining hands with the ISWAP and others.
“I was on ground in Bama, Konduga and Maiduguri and I know what I saw before I made that claim. We are fighting global terrorism and that is why we are appealing to our foreign partners, especially the UN and our neighbours.
“By the time we get more platforms and the new helicopters that are being expected there will be tremendous improvement,” he added.
Mohammed during the visit also urged the national daily to help in the fight against fake news and hate speech.
“We expect you to remain in the vanguard of the efforts to tackle fake news and hate speech. We expect you to educate our people on the efforts being made, especially by the government, in this regard,” he said.
