The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has described the alleged use of drones by insurgent groups like Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as a “guerrilla” warfare aided by informants.

The minister stated this on Wednesday while addressing journalists at the National Press Centre, Abuja, where the seventh 2025 ministerial press briefing was held.

This comes amidst lamentations by some federal lawmakers who raised concerns about the deadly resurgence of Boko Haram insurgency.

On Tuesday, two lawmakers – Zainab Gimba and Ahmed Jaha – from Borno State decried the use of drones and foreign fighters by Boko Haram, with the latter saying that the armed group is “more sophisticated and advanced than the Nigerian Army.”

‘That is not true’ — Badaru fires back

“That is not true. That is absolutely not true,” Mr Badaru said when asked to comment about how daring the terror groups have become. “We have much more sophisticated weapons, and we have much more sophisticated drones.”

He said the war on insurgency is not “conventional.” He described it as “a guerrilla war,” noting that “the terrorists watch us, they have information around us.”

He continued: “They help the people that we try to protect. And they give them information. And they jump at us in a way we don’t expect.

“And when they know that our surveillance mechanism is watching in some direction, because we cannot cover our area.

“So that is it, because they don’t have more equipment than us. We have much more. We have much more sophisticated equipment. And that is one of the sources that I just mentioned.”