Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar, has refuted claims by the House of Representatives that terrorists carrying out attacks in the country possess superior weaponry compared to the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The minister, while speaking at a ministerial briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, described such claims as “absolutely not true”, insisting that the military was better equipped both in terms of arms and technology.
“This ministry is a very interesting one because it affects the lives of everyone. Yesterday, the House of Representatives said that terrorists have better weapons than we do. That is absolutely not true. We have much more sophisticated equipment and drones,” he said.
According to him, the nature of terrorism in the country is not a conventional war but rather guerrilla warfare, which requires different tactical approaches.
“This war is not a conventional one; it’s more like guerrilla warfare. They monitor us, they have informants within the communities we are trying to protect, and they strike unexpectedly.
“Our surveillance cannot cover every area at once, but that doesn’t mean they are better armed. We are more advanced in terms of equipment, and that’s why we’ve recorded successes,” he added.
