Bokoharam shot themselves in the foot - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said members of the Boko Haram sect caused their downfall themselves when they gave their activities a religious connotation by killing children and slaughtering people in worship centers.
He described it as a major contradiction, saying no religion allows the killing of innocent persons.
Buhari spoke at a Panel of Heads of State at the 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa held in Senegal.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President, while highlighting the gains of the cooperation among the Lake Chad Basin Commission countries comprising Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Nigeria, told the gathering that Boko Haram is no longer holding any territory or Local Government Area in his country.
He said, “Those who live in the North East know that Boko Haram is no longer holding a single territory in the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. But they have a system of using IEDs and they indoctrinate mostly teenage girls and send them to soft targets to churches, mosques and market places. That too is becoming very rear.

“I think Boko Haram shot themselves in the foot when they gave their ideology a religious connotation by killing children in their schools, people in the mosque and churches and shouting Allahu Akbar.
“This is a major contradiction as no religion advocates hurting the innocent. You can’t kill people and say Allahu Akbar. You either do not know what you are saying or you don’t believe it.”
The President assured the international community that the end of Boko Haram terrorists was in sight, even as he hailed the increased cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbors in the fight against terrorism.
He also assured the international community that the security situation in Nigeria had improved significantly.

‘‘About a month ago, I spoke with the President of Chad and I was pleased that a number of Chadians and Nigerians that were Boko Haram members are surrendering to him en-mass