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President Goodluck Jonathan reviews troops during the
commissioning ceremony of offshore patrol vessels in Lagos on February 19, 2015
©Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP)
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President Goodluck Jonathan said he underestimated
Boko Haram Islamists who have overrun swathes of the country's northeast and
defended an election postponement in an interview published Sunday. Jonathan, facing a tight re-election bid against
ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, has faced criticism over the vote delay,
which critics argue was designed to give him time to shore up his campaign.
The military pushed for the six-week delay eventually
granted by the electoral commission to allow it to secure the country for the
vote, though Boko Haram's insurgency has raged for six years.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are now set
for March 28.
"Probably at the beginning, we, and I mean myself
and the team, we underrated the capacity of Boko Haram," Jonathan said in
an interview with ThisDay.
He said that the military has recently acquired more
arms and ammunition to do battle with the Islamists, vowing that their
suppression and the capture of the group's leader were near.
"God willing, we will catch (Abubakar) Shekau
before the elections," he said.
Asked why six more weeks would make a difference in
the years-long conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people, Jonathan said
the military could make reasonable progress in that time.
"We are not saying we must finish Boko Haram to
conduct elections, but we should get to a point where they will not cause havoc
if they make an attempt," he said in the interview.
"My belief is that by 28th of next month, when
the elections will be conducted, Boko Haram may not even be in a position to
attack any town, God willing."
Nigeria's military authorities on Saturday claimed to
have recaptured the fishing town of Baga from the Islamists, more than a month
after it was overrun in what is feared to be the worst massacre of the six-year
insurgency.
There was no independent corroboration of the claim,
as thousands of Baga residents had fled the town after Boko Haram attacked on
January 3 and hundreds, if not more, were killed in the following days.
Over one million people have been left homeless since
2009 as the rebels try to carve out an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria.
The
Islamists have recently extended their violent campaign into nations
neighbouring Nigeria's northeast as regional forces pursue them.
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