Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters, yesterday, said the Nigerian Armed Forces and security agencies were on red alert to tackle the Islamic State and Al-Qaida terrorist groups believed to be infiltrating the West African region.
It said it had increased the tempo on all its operations against the onslaught of terrorists, bandits and other criminals terrorising 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 was 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 need for the 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 Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, had warned that the extremists had already begun deploying several strategies to silently re-establish themselves in the region and expand in the entire continent without drawing attention.
He revealed that the Al-Qaida sect has already expanded in Mali and had 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, said the Nigerian military was not oblivious of the potency of such infiltration, adding , “it was the Nigerian military who first raised the alarm of movement of terrorists from the Middle East to West Africa and is conscious of it.”
He said military operations across the country have recorded tremendous successes with terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, pirates, and other criminals dislodged or killed.
He said troops had continued to conduct raids and air bombardments of identified bandits’ locations and hideouts to dislodge the criminals and rescue kidnapped victims.
Enenche said the operations had made it possible for farmers to return to their farms and for other social activities to gradually take place in different parts of the country where movements were restricted because of violent crimes and terrorists.
He said the fight against crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region had led to the recovery and deactivation of 25 illegal refining sites in Rivers, Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom States and that 342, 000, 00 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined AGO were impounded by soldiers.
Enenche while giving an update of various military operations across the country said: “The Armed Forces have continued the aggressive clearance operations in the entire North-West zone of the country. Within the period under review, troops in the Joint Operations Area scaled-up kinetic and non-kinetic operations in the general areas of Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and adjoining states, leading to gradual restoration of overall human activities in the zone. The activities of armed bandits, cattle rustlers and kidnappers and other sundry crimes hitherto made life unbearable for locals in the afore-mentioned areas. However, through the concerted efforts of Operations Hadarin Daji, Katsina, Accord, Sahel Sanity, farmers have returned to their farms while other economic activities are gradually picking up across the zone.”