By Olayemi Esan
Boko Haram terrorists have resorted to deploying cheap propaganda to seek relevance after being faced with the reality of defeat and inability to carry out attacks that have hitherto been its strategy to remain relevant in the public.
Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu who made the assertion in a statement on Friday in Abuja disclosed that the tactic embraced by terrorists was due to sustained military bombardments on land and air by the operatives of Operation Hadin Kai.
Nwachukwu said the sustained operation has exerted so much pressure on the terrorists and their sympathizers hence their resort to cheap and uncoordinated propaganda as only available weapon.
He added that in recent times, a good number of these terrorists have surrendered to troops in different locations across the theatre, a trend indicating that the terrorists are losing the capacity to remain in the fight.
"Apparently, there are indications that their fighting capability has been severely encumbered by devastating depletion, with their remnants deserting various enclaves, leaving behind a few diehards that will undoubtedly be eliminated by the highly spirited troops of OPHK in no distant future," Nwachukwu said.
The Army spokesperson added that in a bid to replenish their fast depleting fighting force and clandestinely conscripting unsuspecting individuals to join their fold, Boko Haram terrorists have embarked on a subtle recruitment drive using the said propaganda video to portray a lavish lifestyle in their so-called fortress; a psychological strategy desperately deployed to attract impressionable youths and unsuspecting individuals.
"A cursory look at the video revealed an amateur work of doctored old clips and images from different backgrounds, skewed with blurred imageries that are incoherent and illogical.
"The incontrovertible reality is that, the group is facing imminent destruction and extinction. Contrary to the false impression they attempt to project of a blissful life in their enclaves, the true situation in their evil enclave is one of hunger, disease, brutality, high level of immorality and the constant fear of military offensives.
"This is largely responsible for the terrorists' turning in their arms in droves as the gallant troops of OPHK are rendering their enclaves uninhabitable with fierce offensives. What the terrorists did not tell their target audience is that their fighters and family members are currently surrendering to the troops in multitudes, laying down their arms and renouncing their membership of the evil organisation and that they were misled in joining in the first place", he explained.
Nwachukwu added that, as a matter of fact, most of the terrorists who surrendered to the troops lamented that the condition in their enclaves have become too harsh and completely unbearable that they had no option than to give themselves up to troops.
"This is the reality of the situation that confronts every BHT member, contrary to the make-belief and propaganda they conjured up in the video", he said.
"The Nigerian Army being a professional force adheres to extant laws and international best practices, particularly the provisions that relate to a situation when an adversary surrenders.
"This informed the acceptance of some Boko Haram terrorists members who lay down their arms and willfully denounced violent campaigns", he added.
He noted that, the Nigerian Army will however not hesitate to subdue unrepentant terrorists who are still fanning the embers of violence in the North East.
The Army spokesperson re-emphasized that, while carrying out its constitutional mandate, the Nigerian Army will continue to safeguard the territorial integrity of Nigeria in furtherance of peace and stability in the West African Sub-region.
He therefore advised individuals or groups who have fallen to the antics of Boko Haram terrorists' recruitment drive to surrender themselves and their weapons to the nearest military or security forces’ outfit or risk testing the might of the ongoing counter insurgency operations.