Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has assured that the federal government and the armed forces would ensure that by the end of this month, the capacity of Boko Haram militants is substantially weakened. President Muhammadu Buhari had in his message to the Chief of Army Staff conference read by the Chief of Defence Staff General Gabriel Olonisakin in Dutse, Jigawa State on Monday hinted that the December deadline to completely flush out the Boko Haram may be modified due to operational exigencies.

Buhari said the December deadline was only a guideline which could determine government's action if exigencies of multiple operations advice a modification. But speaking with heads of news bureaus and defence correspondents in Abuja yesterday, the information minister said: "By the end of this month, Boko Haram will no longer be able to hold any Nigerian territory. What we want to do is to substantially decimate their capacity to hold any territory".

The minister noted that as typical of unconventional warfare anywhere in the world, despite the heavy damage that might have been inflicted on them, the militants could resort to hitting soft targets with pockets of bombings.

He called for the active support of all Nigerians for the armed forces in the war against Boko Haram, saying the war is not for only the military. He said his ministry would soon initiate a process to bridge the gap between the military and the media to involve top military and intelligence officials and senior journalists to ensure smooth information flow and keep the media better informed to be able to properly disseminate genuine information about the war which he said had already been largely won.

Mohammed paid glowing tributes to the armed forces on their counter-insurgency efforts, saying the military was working very hard to meet the December deadline. "Let me say, without mincing words, that all of us, Nigerians, owe a debt of gratitude to our men and women in uniform for their patriotism, sacrifice and service. I say this because what I saw during my trip to Maiduguri, Konduga, Kaure and Bama last Saturday left me and indeed all members of my entourage in awe of the commitment and loyalty of the military to our country's peace and unity.

"From Maiduguri, where the Command and Control Centre, as well as the headquarters of the 7 Div are situated, what we saw are committed men and women in uniform, starting from the highest echelon of the military to the lowest rung of the ladder. The morale of the troops is quite high, and they are well equipped, from what we saw even though I must say that the provision of platforms for the military is a continuous process", he said.

The minister described as very reassuring, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin's remark while briefing him at the Command and Control Centre at the Maimalari Cantonment in Borno State that ''The reality on the ground is that we are winning the war". "What we saw on the ground ourselves corroborated the statement made by the General", he noted.

He expressed delight at the clean-up of Bama, Konduga and Kaure as well as the reconstruction efforts by the government of Borno State even as Governor Kashim Shettima said the rebuilding of the first 1,000 homes would start next month while the rebuilding process had already started in Konduga. He advised members of the public to give security agents timely information on suspicious movements and persons.