No Nigerian territory is currently under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents, the Centre for Conflict Resolution and Management (CCRM) has claimed.
In its latest report, released on Wednesday, the body said contrary to the media report, no town in the country was being controlled by the violent group.
Presenting the report on Wednesday, the Executive Director of the centre, Mrs. Betty Aku, said the centre was making this disclosure after an on-the-spot assessment of Baga Town Kukuwa LGA of Borno State and others parts of North Eastern Nigeria.
The centre made the revelation in the wake of the rumoured takeover of the town by Boko Haram insurgents.
The reports said Baga had remained a battleground for the Nigerian Military and the Boko Haram insurgents for factors such as its proximity to the neighbouring francophone countries, its economic potentials, and activities evident in farming, livestock rearing, and fishing.
Aku said Data analysis and interviews were used to answer critical research questions.
“After an analysis of the findings of the researchers, the following were arrived at: Baga town and its environs are not under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents.
“Baga Town witnessed an attempted takeover by heavily armed Boko Haram Insurgents, but the attack was successfully repelled by the combined grand and air forces of the Armed Forces.
“Baga and its environs are accessible to all commuters. There is no section of the state under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents.
The second attempt lasted several hours until the military deployed air support to the ground troops.
“Our researchers gathered that there was no attempt by the Insurgents to inflict harm on the locals. They were strictly out to take control of the military base and possibly gain access to the armoury. This much was also gathered for other communities included in the rumoured takeover by Boko Haram insurgents.
“It was also gathered that the town of Cross Kauwa was briefly occupied by the Boko Haram insurgents after the first attempt at the military base in Baga. The insurgents launched the second attack from Cross Kauwa before dispersing using the Lake Chad route into the fringes in Chad and Niger.
