A Nigerian security expert based in the United Kingdom, Mr. Francis Nosa Okoemu, has predicted that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would soon win the war against Boko Haram insurgency.

The war has raged for six years in parts of Nigeria’s North and across the borders but Okoemu, who has studied counter-terrorism strategies in the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States of America, believes that President Buhari, who assumed office on May 29, has the right tactics to achieve victory.

Okoemu, who has spent considerable time studying the Boko Haram insurgency, said in an exclusive interview with News Express: “Moving the War Control Centre to the war zone was essential: Buhari, unlike his predecessors, was showing that he wanted to take the fight to Boko Haram.” He said that in moving the War Control Centre to the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, Buhari, a retired army general, “mirrored the American style of fighting insurgency by taking the war to the enemy,” giving a kind of warning to the sect that “we are coming to attack you.” Okoemu, however, pointed out that “such bold moves really need to be backed up by unbeatable military strength.”

According to the security expert, “However, the decision that Buhari took that will help to defeat Boko Haram is the appointments of the Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai from Borno State, NSA, Major-General, Monguno (rtd.) from Borno State, and Air Chief of Staff, AVM, Sadique Abubakar, from Bauchi State. Mature, experienced, non-corrupt military leaders are essential in the battle against Boko Haram.”

Okoemu said that what Buhari is, in effect, doing is to use the kinsmen of Boko Haram members to fight them. “In view of this, “they will not complain like if it is an Igbo man, for instance,” he said.

Mr. Okoemu holds a BA Degree in Contemporary Military and International History, a Master’s Degree in Terrorism and Security Studies, and PGD in Intelligence and Security Studies, both awarded by the University of Salford, Manchester, UK. He has attended counter-terrorism courses in Israel, the United States of America, and other security courses in the UK, which include close protection, intelligence gathering and terrorism threat and response. Okoemu is a member of the UK’s Security Industry Authority (SIA) and chairman/CEO, Blackwell Security Consultancy, UK Ltd.

His detailed interview, in which he identified the weak link in the war against Boko Haram, will be published by News Express next week Monday, August 17, 2015.

•Photo shows Francis Nosa Okoemu.

Update news