Buhari:Corruption stopped military from defeating Boko Haram

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday attributed the inability of the Nigerian military to quickly defeat the Boko Haram sect to corruption.

He said the military started making progress in the anti-terrorism fight the moment his administration curbed corruption in the service.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke while granting audience to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari said the loss of 14 local government areas to Boko Haram had greatly tarnished the reputation of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

The President noted, however, that with measures taken by his administration to curb corruption and provide better weaponry, logistics, training and welfare for soldiers on the frontlines, the Nigerian military has now almost totally incapacitated Boko Haram as a fighting force and recovered all territories that were lost to the terrorist sect.

“When we curbed corruption and removed the injustice in the military, we began to make progress,”

Welcoming the support of Muslims across the world for Nigeria’s war against Boko Haram, the President said that the war against terrorism was also a war against injustice, which is not condoned by Islam and all the major religions.

“You can’t kill the innocent in churches or in mosques and shout Allahu Akbar,” the President said.

He added that the visit of El-Tayeb and his expression of solidarity with Nigeria in the war against terrorism was a clear indication of global Muslim support for Nigeria against the unjust killing of the innocent by terrorists.