Borno State Governor,

Shettima made the denial in response to a claim by Senator Baba Garbai that the sect was still in control of some areas in the state.

“As the chief security officer of Borno State I can tell you authoritatively that no local government is under the occupation of Boko Haram,” the governor said while speaking to journalists on Monday, February 8, 2016 in Maiduguri.

“Our military deserves commendation, because all my local government areas have been liberated; only few insurgents remain in the Sambisa Forest where they continue to launch some pockets of attacks as a result of the bombardment that is going on in their hideouts.

“It is either the senator was emotional or misquoted. The military has recorded tremendous successes in the fight against Boko Haram in the last six months. You know Ngala, Dikwa and some areas were recently liberated and as the chief security officer of the state, I can confidently say Boko Haram has been decimated, demoralised and degraded. Borno is better off than it was six months ago.

“To me, it is unbelievable that such a statement could have emanated from Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai. I can’t believe he said that because as a Senator, he has access to the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the IGP and even the Presidency and he is not the type that even speaks to the media easily. So this is why I am at a loss.

“I have not been able to get in touch with him yet to get his own side, to hear from him what he actually said. But for now, I suspect he must have been misquoted or if he wasn’t misquoted, he must have spoken based on emotional outburst ‎and not anchored on ground realities,” Shettima added.

Senator Garbai, who represents the Borno Central Senatorial District, had said that about 50% of the state was still under Boko Haram’s control.