National Security Adviser (NSA), Major Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), has identified Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM) and ISGS as groups fuelling terrorism in Nigeria and other Sahel nations.
He enjoined Islamic clerics to back ongoing counter-terrorism operations. Monguno observed that alliances between the clerics and security forces “should be the backbone to rebuilding our terrorism-infested communities.”
The NSA spoke at the 14th Workshop of the League of Ulamas, Preachers and Imams of Sahel countries in Abuja. He said: “Terrorism and the rapid escalation of violent activities by militant Islamist groups in the Sahel since 2016 have been primarily driven by the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS), which mainly operates in Mali and extends to Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.
“It is bolstered by activities of groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), the Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM) and ISGS, which have continued to pose an imminent threat to the stability of the region.
“In Nigeria, Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) dominate terrorist activities, especially in the North-eastern part of the country.
“The situation in the Sahel has never been grimmer, extremist violence continues to spread, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) is growing; and food insecurity is affecting more people than ever before. There are several not entirely congruent working hypothesis underpinning foreign and regional government strategies.”
Relatedly, the Department of State Services (DSS) has vowed to crush bandits and other groups behind the widespread insecurity in the country.
The spokesman, Peter Afunanya, at a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, said since they “have crossed the lines, the DSS would not hesitate to crush them.”
He also raised the alarm that there “is a plot to recruit some students who will be going home for vacation into banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, financial crimes and armed robbery.”
Afunanya noted that aside students, recessing members of the National Assembly/State Houses of Assembly and other public/private sector workers on vacation might be predisposed to threats of various degrees.
The spokesperson said: “Let me reiterate at this juncture that those who sponsor kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, insurgency and all kinds of attacks on security agents, civilians and vulnerable populations should have a rethink. These persons, whether in the North or South, know themselves.
“There is no doubt that they have crossed the lines and it is now time to crush them.”
