Sallah: Buhari says end is near for terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam 

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the battle waged against terrorists is approaching its conclusion and “victory is within sight”.

The president gave the assurance in his Sallah message to Nigerians as Ramadan reaches its end today.

The president’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Sunday, quoted Buhari as sending his best wishes to Muslims in Nigeria and across the world celebrating the occasion.

He said an end is near for terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam is approaching.

The statement read in part: ”As the Holy month of Ramadan reaches its end and Muslims mark the Eid, President Muhammadu Buhari sends his best wishes to Muslims in Nigeria and across the world celebrating the occasion:

“After a period of fasting and reflection this year, we have cause to welcome the occasion in hope.

”The battle waged against terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam is approaching its conclusion.

“The fight has been long and hard. Final victory is within sight. Boko Haram and its offshoots’ final embers are now fading.

“Last month, the leader of ISWAP was killed in an airstrike. Since the New Year, thousands of fighters have surrendered to enter rehabilitation programmes.

”The territories they used to occupy are now seeing the return of those who were forced to flee their barbarity.

”Normality is finally beginning to return to the Northeast. It is a long process. Yet it is one we are together, now embarking upon.

“With the designation of bandit groups as terrorists, the challenges of banditry and kidnapping are being tackled differently in the North-western and North-central states where the latest military acquisitions and the Armed Forces are being fanned out across the region to thwart acts of terror.”

The president also expressed delight over what he described as ”impressive reports” of the special operations to curb crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the South-South zone of the country.

He, however, noted that in spite of the good news some unpatriotic elements were bent on causing more pollution and destruction of national assets.