Nigerian military officials stated that the national military has killed 300 Islamist militants in the past week. In a campaign to recapture territory lost to Boko Haram, Nigeria has joined military forces with Chad, Niger, Benin, and Cameroon.
Officials claimed that military equipment was seized from the militants in this week's campaign. Further, Nigerian forces regained the town of Monguno from which 5,000 civilians fled from last month when the militants overtook the city.
Though the news shared by the Nigerian military connotes progress in the fight against the extremist group, the Nigerian people have guarded optimism. The Nigerian government has been said to exaggerate higher enemy deaths and lower Nigerian force casualties. Further, Boko Haram is a mobile and adaptive group that may still function in spite of destroyed bases and equipment.
Boko Haram has disrupted the presidential election process in Nigeria and released a video on Tuesday that promised to continue disrupting the elections. Originally scheduled for February 14th, the elections have been pushed back to March 28. The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, personally promised in the video to stop the elections by any means.
"This election will not be held even if we are dead," said Shekau.
Nigerian officials, however, promised that the new election date will not be changed, and that Boko Haram will be wiped out before the election day. Skeptics believe that Boko Haram, even if its major bases are destroyed, will continue to cause problems for the Nigerian government. It is unclear whether the Nigerian government will be able to create a secure environment in time for elections.
Boko Haram has killed an estimated 13,000 Nigerians and abducted thousands more. Those who are captured are often forced into Islam and abused both physically and mentally. Nigeria's neighbors have also been affected by the rise of the militants. Currently, Nigeria is the largest and wealthiest nation in Africa and the nation's President Goodluck Jonathan has been criticized by many for his lack of effectiveness in stopping Boko Haram.
