In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju in Abuja on Tuesday, BMO also described the outcome of the study as psychological warfare designed to dampen the spirit of Nigerians in the fight against terrorists.

“In its report on the ranking, the U.S body marked Nigeria as the third most terrorised country in the world, after Afghanistan and Iraq. This is scaremongering designed to de-market Nigeria to potential investors.

“We also describe the ranking of Nigeria by the United States’ National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism as a psychological warfare designed to dampen the spirit of Nigerians in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency and sundry crimes which are common around the world.

“There is no amount of assessment of the situation based on faulty intelligence will obliterate the successes made by the Nigerian Armed Forces in curbing the insurgency in the North-East and acts of banditry and kidnapping by criminals in other parts of the country.

“The consortium that crafted the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), which is an arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security, did not get its facts right by ranking Nigeria so lowly.”

According to him, this is because there is no evidence to show that any act of terrorism has ever emanated from Nigeria against the United States or any other country.

“Rather, Nigeria is the victim of insurgents and sundry criminals who use weapons manufactured in the United States and Europe to kill innocent citizens, and their criminal actions widely reported in an exaggerated manner by western media that seem to glorify terrorism in developing countries.

“We note the insincerity of the ranking where the authors glibly admitted that deaths from terrorism have fallen consistently.

“The decline in deaths corresponds with the military successes against ISL and Boko Haram, with the total number of deaths falling by 15.2 per cent between 2017 and 2018.

“We observe that the fall in the number of deaths from the Boko Haram insurgency between 2017 and 2018 corresponds with the massive efforts in combating the insurgency by Nigerian Armed Forces under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

“It is regrettable that the report fails to commend Nigerian security forces for their successes against the insurgents,” BMO chairman said.

He said that the report merely admitted that the number of female suicide bombers masterminded by Boko Haram had reduced, adding that they were now less lethal because Nigerian ‘security forces have adapted to this tactic.’

“It is sad that the United States’ Department of Homeland Security, or the Consortium, does not consider the almost daily killing of American citizens in schools, subways, military bases and shopping malls as worthy indices to give the U.S a high status in the rank of countries suffering from terrorism.”

According to Akinsiju, the BMO has commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for their gallantry in fighting insurgents, kidnappers, and bandits in the country.