President Buhari yesterday commiserated with the families of victims of terrorist attacks in Maiduguri, Borno State, in which 30 people were killed.
He also pledged his administration’s commitment to perpetually frustrate the devilish operations of Boko Haram and end the insurgents’ goal of holding Nigeria to ransom.
The president’s condolences from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is attending the African Union (AU) summit, came against the backdrop of the killing, by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, of no fewer than 30 people in a Sunday night siege on Auno village located on the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway in Borno State.
The president, in a statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, condemned the “murderous and cowardly attack on innocent passengers by the Boko Haram terrorists near Maiduguri.’’
He said: “The commitment of this administration to protect the lives of Nigerians will not be derailed by the cowardly and indiscriminate violence against innocent people by Boko Haram terrorists.
“This administration is ever determined to frustrate their goal to hold Nigeria to ransom.’’
Buhari, who condoled with the government of Borno State, warned “that terrorists are clearly on a back foot and their days are numbered.’’
According to him, as members of the armed forces “continue to receive more hardware and intelligence to counter our current security challenges, the remnants of Boko Haram will ultimately be crushed.”
He added that “the peculiar challenges of asymmetric warfare notwithstanding, our armed forces are ever determined to defeat these enemies of humanity.”