President Muhammadu Buhari Defends December Deadline In Al Jazeera Interview

President Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, was interviewed on Al Jazeera last night on the program “Up Front”and talked about the recent terror attacks as well as his administration’s efforts to quell terrorism.
Terror attacks in the past week in North Eastern Nigeria have drawn focus on the President’s promise to end terrorism before the end of the year.
Mehdi Hasan asked President Buhari if the three month deadline handed to service chiefs was unrealistic. President Buhari answered, “when I gave the service chiefs a target of the end of December, it’s because I’m physically on the ground”.
He cited the organisation of the Multi regional joint task force to push and said it will lead to a “spontaneous move against Boko Haram in their area of operation”
President Buhari insisted that “on the ground, physically, things are getting better”. He cited the training and retraining of troops.
1,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks since President Buhari took power in May 29. Asked if he would resign if Boko Haram isn’t defeated by December, he said “I’ll be determined to stay and fight it out”
He also spoke on the possibility of negotiating for the release of the Chibok girls and did not rule out the exchange of prisoners or money to get the girls back.
He was quizzed on the allegations of humans rights abuses trailing the Nigerian army as well as his administration’s failure to prosecute the people named in the Amnesty International report. President Buhari insisted he had not received any report and promised “If I get that report, I will take action”