Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram terrorists are planning to establish a camp in Niger State, authorities have said.
The Secretary to the State Government, (SSG), Ahmed Matane, who raised the alarm yesterday, while briefing reporters in Minna, the State capital, decried the escalated rate of attacks by bandits on innocent residents in recent weeks, saying they were now collaborating with insurgents to worsen the security situation in the State.
Matane lamented that the insurgents – who have carried out attacks that have killed hundreds of thousands of people in the North East over the years – were suspected to be present already in two local government areas of the State. He expressed his worry that the State was in such a situation despite the effort of the State government to protect its citizens, including spending a sum of N5 billion to combat the security challenges in the State.
Intelligence reports, according to the SSG, reveal that bandits have begun to align with insurgents to indoctrinate residents in some communities of Shiroro local government area to imbibe strict Islamic ideology and ban women from going to schools.
He listed some of the communities visited by the insurgents to include Koki, Madaka, Kurebe, Kusare, and Chukuba LGAs, where residents were assured of protection but asked to embark on civil disobedience and reject western education. He added that ISWAP fighters were also making an attempt to establish a permanent camp at Babana Forest around the Kainji National Park, in Borgu LGA.
The insurgents, the SSG further explained, tried to contact the State government through a video in which they claimed not to be criminals but messengers sent by God to establish an Islamic caliphate in the area. He stated that the insurgents, said to be spotted in communities bordering Nigeria and Benin Republic, have started going around to indoctrinate the people, but added that “Despite their rapprochement, we are not negotiating with them”.
According to him, Munya, Rafi, Shiroro, Mashegu, and Mariga LGAs are the epicentre of kidnappings and banditry, while parts of Lapai LGA have begun to experience such security challenges.
