ADEDAMOLA EMMANUEL
All over the world, the mere mention of the name, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, popularly known as ISIS, makes many men melt like butter on hotplate. The beginning of the dreaded terror group marks the beginning of wisdom.
It is, therefore, understandable that when, a few days ago, The Sun of UK reported that the dreaded group had been running an exchange programme with local terror groups in Nigeria, many Nigerians froze in fear.
In the scary exchange programme, The Sun of UK had reported, ISIS commanders were allegedly sneaking their hardened members into Nigeria to train them after which, the British Government feared, they would be ‘exported’ to Britain to cause mayhem on the streets of London.
The flip side of the programme, according to the influential tabloid, entails ISIS helping local terror groups to get their members trained in the Middle East, notably, Yemen and Iraqi.
The information was corroborated by the Nigerian Military High Command, whose spokesman confirmed the involvement of foreign elements in the Boko Haram insurgency.
All the same, the report prompted the Nigerian authorities to beef security at the nation’s airports, especially Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
However, the federal government came out on Tuesday to assure a frightened nation that there was no cause for alarm. The situation, according to the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mansur Dan Ali, was perfectly under control.
Addressing journalists ahead of the Meeting of the Ministers of Defence of the Community of Sahel Saharan States, CEN-SAD, starting in Abuja Wednesday, June 20, the Minister described the training of ISIS fighters on Nigerian soil as illegal and the government would crush it.
“Such Movements of ISIS members into Nigeria are illegal and the Meeting of the Ministers is aware of it and we are trying to curtail this illegal movement,” the Minister said, adding that the matter of the “recruitment and training of ISIS fighters on Nigerian soil is on the table, it is on top of the agenda of the Meeting of the Ministers of Defence of the Sahel Region and it will be discussed elaborately with a view to find lasting solutions to it.
“Such Movements of ISIS members into Nigeria are illegal and the Meeting of the Ministers is aware of it and we are trying to curtail this illegal movement.”
The Minster was represented at the briefing, held at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Hajiya Saratu Batagarawa.
To underscore the fact that the Ministry was not taking the matter lying low, the Minister informed that it would be top on the meeting’s agenda. The meeting would take strategic decisions on Boko Haram and its allies, the twin evils of kidnappings and killings by bandits in the North West, as well as the perennial bloody confrontations between Fulani herders and farmers in the North Central states.
“These issues are the basis for forming this regional organization to enhance intelligence sharing among member countries, to checkmate trans-border and cross border crimes and banditry.
“The idea is that crimes have no border and it is incumbent on all member countries to take a holistic approach to arrive at common solutions to the challenge,” the Minister said.
The 7th Meeting of Ministers of Defence of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN/ SAD) starts in Abuja on Wednesday, June 20 and ends on Friday, June 22.