Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar, has refuted claims by the House of Representatives that terrorists carrying out attacks in the country possess superior weaponry compared to the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The minister, while speaking at a ministerial briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, described such claims as “absolutely not true”;, insisting that the military was better equipped both in terms of arms and technology.
“This ministry is a very interesting one because it affects the lives of everyone. Yesterday, the House of Representatives said that terrorists have better weapons than we do. That is absolutely not true. We have much more sophisticated equipment and drones,”; he said.
According to him, the nature of terrorism in the country is not a conventional war but rather guerrilla warfare, which requires different tactical approaches.
“This war is not a conventional one; it’s more like guerrilla warfare. They monitor us, they have informants within the communities we are trying to protect, and they strike unexpectedly.
“Our surveillance cannot cover every area at once, but that doesn’t mean they are better armed. We are more advanced in terms of equipment, and that’s why we’ve recorded successes,”; he added.
His comments came in response to concerns raised by the House of Representatives on Tuesday over the resurgence of terrorist attacks, particularly in the North-East.
The lawmakers had cited a deadly ambush on a military facility in Giwa, Borno State, as evidence that insurgents might be more heavily armed than government troops.
They expressed worry over the increasing threat posed by Boko Haram and ISWAP, especially in Borno and Yobe states.
Reacting to suggestions that terrorists may be using armed drones, the minister dismissed such claims, saying what had been seen so far were improvised civilian drones.
He added that the government was strengthening intelligence gathering and had made several arrests of arms traffickers in collaboration with the National Security Adviser.
