The US intelligence on the incursion of Al-Qaeda militants into the north-west region of Nigeria has been described as outdated by the Nigerian Defence Headquarters.
Recall that the US had stated that Al-Qaeda militants were gradually taking over the north-west region of Nigeria.
Reacting to the information released by the US, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters said there is nothing new about it.
In a statement released on Thursday, August 6, John Enenche, the coordinator of defence media operations said the intelligence is as old as maybe five or ten years, and it is also not the first time the US would raise such alarm.
Further, Enenche disclosed that it was the Nigerian military that raised the alarm on the movement of “terrorists from the middle east to West Africa.”
According to him, the army’s intelligence agency has been providing information about the infiltration of insurgents, and Nigerians shouldn’t be worried about the activities of the terrorist groups as strategies have been put in place to halt them.
Eneche said;
“Our attention is 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 these 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.
“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.”
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