Nigeria Boko Haram: Militants 'close to defeat' - Buhari

The Nigerian military is near totally overcoming Islamist Boko Haram activists, President Muhammadu Buhari has told the BBC.

He said the aggressors could no more mount traditional assaults against security powers or populace focuses.

"I think, actually, we have won the war," he said.

The president has given the armed force until the end of the month to vanquish Boko Haram, whose six-year uprising has crushed north-eastern Nigeria.

In any case, the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says that the due date is liable to be stretched out as Boko Haram is as yet shelling zones in spite of losing towns under its control.

The president says that key to the annihilation of Boko Haram is rearranging, retraining and reequipping the armed force

The Islamist uprising has kept around one million kids out of school in Nigeria and three neighboring states, the UN youngsters' office said not long ago

Boko Haram has sworn fidelity to Islamic State and regularly shows its trademark dark banner

Pundits of the administration contend that it has overstated the size of its prosperity against the activists, and that every time the armed force cases to have wiped out Boko Haram, the aggressors have discreetly reconstructed.

The revolt is said to have slaughtered somewhere in the range of 17,000 individuals and left more than two million destitute.

The jihadists have been compelled to curtail suicide bombings as a consequence of the military activity against them, President Buhari said.

"Boko Haram has returned to utilizing ad libbed dangerous gadgets (IEDs)," he said. "They have now been lessened to that."

"Boko Haram is a sorted out battling power, I guarantee you, [but] we have managed them."

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Who are Boko Haram?

He said the activists had everything except been driven out from Adamawa and Yobe states and remained a power just in its heartland of Borno state.

"They can't presently marshal constrains and assault towns or assault army bases thus on as they did some time recently.

"I don't think this is distraught talking."

The president said that Nigeria had redesigned and reequipped the military. which had gotten preparing from the British, the Americans and the French.

"A great deal is being done," he said.