The recent disclosure by the Department of State Services (DSS) that it has uncovered elements who appear to be foreign collaborators of the ISIS wing in the country sent alarm bells ringing across the country. Note that the Boko Haram insurgents in the country had previously declared themselves as the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWA) and an affiliate of the ISIS worldwide. The police have, however, warned that it is too early to conclude that those arrested belong to the dreaded international terrorist group.
Indeed, some arrests have been made in some states including Edo and Kogi in the South-south and North-central geopolitical zones, respectively. Initial profiling and interrogation of the suspects allegedly yielded the fact that most of them could not speak any Nigerian language. This is a clear danger to our territorial integrity and continued existence as a united country and we are happy that a report on the arrests has been forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari.
We, therefore, urge the President and the appropriate agencies of government to treat this threat to our national security with the seriousness it deserves. It is necessary to determine its various dimensions and address it before more damage is done. The rising wave of herdsmen/farmers’ clashes and the growing audacity of the cattle rearers undermine peaceful co-existence and national security. The incessant killings by herdsmen breach the peace and security of the country. They call for immediate concern and a robust interrogation by the highest security authorities in the land.
We take it that the allegation of this possible threat to our security as reported by the DSS and the call for caution by the police are signs of collaboration by the two security agencies. There should be more of this inter-agency collaboration and deliberate actions by all concerned to unearth the full dimensions of this threat to the wellbeing of the country.
Our porous borders remain a source of concern, even if we cannot forever present this as an excuse not to properly secure the country against invasions by foreign terrorists.
With over 1,400 leaking border posts and points, some the size of whole villages and towns across the country, it is practically impossible to properly physically man them without the deployment of state-of-the-art gadgets and equipment. These are sorely lacking at the moment. Coupled with the corruption, greed and indiscipline of some of our security and border patrol officials, the danger is best imagined. This is probably why the Boko Haram insurgency which has ravaged the country for several years now, the proliferation of arms exacerbated by the dispersal of militiamen from Libya, and the security challenges from other North African countries and persons of doubtful character, have continued to pose a great threat to the country.
Border communities all over the country, and indeed the world over, may be contiguous, but those who are disposed to causing trouble are few and must be isolated and checked by the combined efforts of a security network that lives up to its billing.
Those arrested so far under this new threat should be properly profiled with a view to getting to their roots and fully understanding their intentions. Thereafter, they should be diligently prosecuted in accordance with the laws of the land. No person or group of people should be treated as if they are above the law.
This is the challenge confronting the government and security agencies, and we expect no less from them. As a people and country still counting the losses of the devastating insurgency in the North-east and escalating sundry threats to national security by rampaging herdsmen, we must take this latest security threat seriously and deal with it decisively.
