By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Nigerian authorities on Tuesday described Boko Haram's recent pledge of allegiance to the Daesh militant group as an "act of desperation."
"[The alliance] is nothing but an act of desperation and comes at a time when Boko Haram is suffering heavy losses," Mike Omeri, head of the National Information Center on Counterterrorism, told reporters at a news briefing in Abuja.
"Boko Haram is on the way to being eliminated and no foreign extremists can or will change this fact as long as the Nigerian military continues to receive cooperation and commitment from its citizens and allies," he added.
In a nearly ten-minute audio message released Saturday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged his allegiance to Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Nigeria continues to fight a six-year insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over one million from the northeastern region where the militancy has been most ruthless.
Last year, Boko Haram went from attacking communities and planting bombs to capturing entire towns.
In mid-2014, it declared a self-styled "Islamic caliphate" in areas under its control with its headquarters in Gwoza, a hilly town in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State.
But Nigerian troops – joined by troops from Niger, Chad and Cameroon – have recently rolled back the gains made by the militants, liberating several Boko Haram-held towns and launching fontal attacks on the group's hideouts.
Recently, the militants have resorted to attacking soft targets and crowded places with suicide bombers.
"[Boko Haram] is sinking and is grasping at any available straw," Omeri said.
"There will be no 'Islamic State' in Nigeria; the only state that will exist is the united Federal Republic of Nigeria," he insisted.
Last month, Omeri warned that Daesh sought to recruit Nigerians via various means – including social media – and urged parents to be vigilant.
