Nigerian governor warns of Boko Haram comeback

Following a string of attacks and the takeover of some areas of the northeastern state, the governor of Nigeria's Borno state has issued a warning that the jihadist organization Boko Haram is making a resurgence.

Babagana Zulum demanded that troops battling the insurrection receive further military support.

The Nigerian government has dismissed the governor's concerns, claiming that for the past 18 months, national security has increased.

Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in Borno state for 15 years, killing over 40,000 people and forcing over two million to flee their homes.

Boko Haram dominated vast swaths of Borno state during the height of its insurgency in 2015 before being routed.

When the terrorist gang abducted around 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, which is also in Borno state, in April 2014, it became well-known throughout the world.

The extremists have begun attacking army bases, police stations, and rural areas after a brief respite.

At least 20 Nigerian troops were reportedly murdered in an ambush by the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), a breakaway offshoot of Boko Haram, in January. Forty farmers were also killed in another incident around the same time period.

The fact that the organization now attacks and kidnaps people in numerous towns virtually every day, according to Governor Zulum, is depressing.

He said that Borno State was "losing ground," in the fight against the jihadists, during a meeting with national security authorities.

According to security analysts, the number of troops fighting Boko Haram in Borno and other northeastern regions has decreased as a result of the concentration of troops in northwest Nigeria to combat banditry and kidnappings.

After neighboring Niger withdrew its forces from a regional force established to combat the terrorist group, the battle against the extremists became even more difficult.

Hamisu Sani, another analyst, told the BBC that while defeating Boko Haram would not be simple, it was not impossible.

"No matter how our military weaken them, they can always regroup and will remain a threat," he stated.

"The solution would be to crush the fighters in their entirety - which is possible given the right support to our military."