There’s Nothing New About Al-Qaeda Penetration In North-East – DHQ

The Defence Headquarters has said there is nothing new about report of Al-Qaeda militants penetration into North-East of Nigeria as revealed by US intelligence.

The Cable had Wednesday obtained a remark from the US Department of State in which Dagvin Anderson, commander of the US special operations command, alerted Nigeria that the terrorist group were making an inroad into the region and also expanding to other parts of West Africa.

But Defence Spokesperson, John Enenche, in a statement on Thursday, said it was not the first time the US would raise such alarm, adding that the armed forces were conscious of it.

“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,” Enenche said in the statement.

“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 ISWAP 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.”

The defence spokesperson further urged Nigerians not to get worried over the activities of the militant groups, saying strategies have been put in place to halt them.