The Federal Government has drawn up a terrorism watch list similar to the one maintained by some developed countries. Travelers who arrived from or are going to the countries on the list would receive special attention by the security agencies, and the Nigeria Immigration Service.
THE PUNCH learnt over the weekend that the countries on the list were Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, Niger, Chad and Mauritania.
A source in government who spoke to one of our correspondents said government had directed all its security and border agencies to put people whose travelling itinerary included any of these countries under watch.
The directive is said to have followed the sensational interview that Mallam Aliyu Tishau, the co-founder of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, granted the Africa Independent Television last Tuesday. In the interview, which was published by THE PUNCH on Wednesday, Tishau had said that many young Nigerians, who went to Mauritania to train and fight, would soon return to the country.
“I predict that the Nigerian situation may become like what is happening in Somalia. I give this warning because many of those young men who went to Mauritania are being attracted back home because of the violent situation brought by the present crisis,” he had said. The Boko Haram leader also said that three of the returnees were bomb specialists who had been recalled from military training in Mauritania
On Sunday, an official of one of the security agencies told one of our correspondents that the agencies had always paid special attention to people coming and going to those countries. However, he admitted that their (agencies’) efforts had been increased in the last five days.
The source, who pleaded anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, said, “It is not that we have not been monitoring travelers from the affected countries, but Tishau’s revelations have made us to intensify efforts in the last five days.”
Investigations revealed that travelers coming from and going to Niger and Somalia were included in the watch list because of the link Boko Haram had with some citizens of the two countries.
The group, while claiming responsibility for the June 16 bombing of the Police Force headquarters, had said, “Our jihadists have arrived in Nigeria from Somalia where they received real training in warfare from our brethren who made that country ungovernable.”
Also, the State Security Service, in a statement on September 6, had said that it had arrested five suspects, including a Nigerien national over the bombing of the Suleja offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission on April 8.
The source said, “The surveillance is not limited to West African countries. There are countries where there are regular occurrences of bombings. Travelers going to and coming from such countries are included.
“We are not taking anything for granted. The surveillance is not aimed at harassing anybody. It is meant to beef up security along our borders.”
The enhanced security procedures came on the heels of the meeting between the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, and senior security officials from the Niger Republic in Abuja last Friday.
The Police Force Public Relations Officer, Olusola Amore, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, had explained that the meeting was aimed at combating the illegal flow of arms and ammunition, and the movement of illegal immigrants.
When contacted, the NIS Public Relations Officer, Joachim Olumba, confirmed to one of our correspondents that travelers from terrorism-prone countries had been receiving special attention from the service.
Although he declined to name the countries, he said, “Although travelers to these countries always lie that they were going to Ghana or Gambia, we have ways of knowing their real destinations and we have put in place mechanism to track them.”
According to him, the operational strategy of the agency goes beyond tracking travelers to terrorism-prone countries, adding that the NIS had strengthened its intelligence and operation departments to address the prevailing security challenges in the country.
Responding to a question that the immigration service was not being carried along by other security agencies in the fight against terrorism, the NIS PRO said that the organisation received intelligence report from other sister security agencies “when necessary.”
While addressing all the State Comptroller-Generals in her office a few weeks ago, the NIS Comptroller-General, Mrs. Rose Uzoma, had warned that the officers would be held accountable for lapses in their areas of jurisdiction.
She urged them to be in synergy with other security agencies to gather intelligence, adding that traditional rulers and commercial motorcycle unions should not be left out of the efforts to secure the country.
“Businessmen in Immigration uniforms must be unmasked and shown their way out of the Service. We cannot condone any officer who regards the Service as a part-time job,” she had warned.
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