Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters said the Nigerian armed forces and the security agencies were on red alert to tackle members of the Islamic State and Al-Qaida terrorist groups said to be infiltrating the West African region.
It says it has increased the tempo on all its operations against the onslaught of terrorists, bandits and other criminals terrorizing the country with their activities.
It further stated that the recent warning by the United States of America about bandits’ infiltration of the West African region was not new to the Nigerian armed forces as it is doing everything to protest the territorial integrity of the Nigerian nation.
Coordinator Defence Media operations Major General John Enenche made this known at a media briefing in Abuja.
Enenche who was responding to questions on military preparedness to tackle the terrorists said to be relocating to the west African region, said there was no call for alarm and urged Nigerians to go about their legitimate businesses without fear of being harassed.
The United States Africa Command (US AFRICOM) had on Tuesday warned that the Islamic State and Al-Qaida terrorist groups are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic and gradually taking over the West African Region after losing ground in Syria, Iraq and in the Middle East.
The Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, Major General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, warned the extremists have already begun deploying several strategies to silently re-establish themselves in the region and expand in the entire continent without drawing attention.
The Commander had revealed that the Al-Qaida sect has already expanded in Mali and have moved into northern Burkina Faso, where they attacked infrastructure, took out local governance and security Forces, and are controlling the local economy.
But Gen Enenche, told newsmen during a question and answer session that the Armed Forces was not oblivious of the potency of such infiltration, saying “it was the Nigerian Military who first raised alarm of movement of terrorists from the middle east to West Africa and is conscious of it”.
According to him, “Our attention being drawn to the fact that terrorists from other zones are coming here, I think it would be good for us to be keeping records of events as they unfold.
“For me this is not the first time they are raising such an alarm,the alarm is as old as maybe five or ten years ago and the armed forces and the country is conscious of it.
“When the conflict in Libya was declared officially that it ended, which did not end what happened? It was we, our NIA, state service and all that raised the information that this people are moving.
“Have we not captured foreigners among the people that have been terrorizing us in this country?
“So it is just like a call to keep doing what you are doing, so the general public should know that the security agencies are on top of that one.
“Recently we captured some in Niger state from our neigboring country, where are they coming from? Why do we have ISAWP here now, was ISWAP indigenous to Nigeria, No!
“So it’s just like telling you the obvious. And I want to take like an advice to continue to ensure you have measures in place to continue checking them.
“When it came out alot of people read the headlines but I went into the detail presented. It was not accusive, it was not specific like saying ; you people should put effort to continue to contain them, because pressure is put on them in other areas, they would increase their influx.
“There is no doubt that we already have that challenge as far back as when they war in Libya was declared, and even in Iraq. It’s just like a wake up call, which is readily welcome, all the security agencies have that at the back of their plan and they factor it in implementation.
“The general public should not be afraid of that at all. It’s not a new thing, it’s already in our schedule of activity,” he said.