Defence minister Christopher Musa has claimed that Nigeria has won the war against terrorism, claiming that attacks are no longer rampant across the country.

“Frankly speaking, we have defeated terrorism, because now the attacks are not as rampant as they used to. We now deal with banditry, which is a social ill,” Mr Musa, who stated in a Channels TV interview on Thursday, said. “Well, the truth about it is that we don’t have those brazen attacks as we used to. Before now, you used to see Boko Haram come in, go to places, attack areas, do things, and go back.”

Mr Musa claimed that “you don’t hear them” but “once in a while, they try to sneak out, come to an isolated area, and that’s what they normally do”.

“They look out for the soft spots, areas they think they can easily make the impact,” stated the minister.

Mr Musa appealed to governors to stop giving motorcycles out as palliatives, noting terrorists and bandits leverage them to carry out their heinous activities.

“We’re also appealing to governors to stop giving motorcycles out as palliatives because these motorcycles are used by bandits and terrorists. Even if you want to give people, give them small capacity motorcycles, not the ones bandits can move around. Because that gives them leverage,” he said.

The minister restated the need for effective local governments across the country, insisting crimes are local.

“What we have realised is that terrorists establish illegal motor parks to move arms and ammunition to those areas. Crime and development are local. So our local governments must be effective to deal with this crisis in their respective communities,” Mr Musa said.

Recently, terrorists invaded Niger communities, killing scores of people and abducting hundreds of others during a Friday prayer.