The United States has issued a warning to the Nigerian government about possible infiltration of the Arab jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the northwestern region of the country.
Major General Dagvin Anderson, the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, Africa gave the warning while speaking during a press briefing on August 4, 2020.
He said that intelligence sharing with the Nigerian government has been instrumental in providing an understanding of terrorist activities in the nation.
The war between the Nigerian Armed Forces and the insurgency from the local Islamic sect, Boko Haram, has raged since 2009, with the latest mass killings in Kaduna sparking national and international outrage and condemnation.
Major Anderson was quoted as saying:
We can’t underestimate the threat these violent extremist organizations pose. We, as a community of international nations, keep thinking we have defeated them or we have put them on their back foot and that they’re just moments from disintegration.
I think after 20 years we have seen they are very resilient organizations that, although small, they’re able to leverage social media and other forms of media to have an outsized voice and that they continue to recruit and they continue to find opportunities.
No nation can come in and fix that problem for Nigeria. We can assist with that – and it’s the United States can assist, the United Kingdom, other countries can come in, many countries can come and assist with that partnership – but ultimately it takes leadership from Nigeria in order for us to focus our efforts.”
