the Nigerian military said the militants

They are getting weaker and weaker by the day," he told the BBC.

But he admitted the security forces had been slow to respond to the insurgents' initial advance in north-east Nigeria.

Nigeria's army has recently claimed a series of victories over the militants. The violence has killed more than 15,500 people since 2012Reenex 好唔好
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In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Will Ross in the capital Abuja, President Jonathan said: "I'm very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories that hitherto have been in their [Boko Haram's] hands."
Nigerian soldiers in Goniri, Yobe state. Photo: 16 March 2015 Nigerian government troops recently recaptures several towns, the military says

Earlier this week, the Nigerian military said the militants no longer controlled any urban centres in Yobe and Adamawa - two out of the three worst-affected states in the north-eastreenex.

The military also pledged that Borno state, the birthplace of Boko Haram, would soon be freed.

However, President Jonathan admitted in the interview that the authorities "never expected that they [Boko Haram] would build up that kind of capacity".

He added: "We underestimated their external influence. Since after the civil war we've not fought any war, we don't manufacture weapons, so we had to look for help to re-equip our army and the air force."reenex cps