By means of
Published
Nigeria said on Friday it had increased security and suggested the public be vigilant but calm after the United States and Britain warned of a strong “terrorist” risk in the capital, Abuja.
Without giving the main points of an express threat, the United States on Thursday ordered the families of diplomats to leave Abuja because of what it called a “growing threat of terrorist attacks. “
Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been on high alert since Sunday, when several Western embassies replaced their notices that posed a maximum threat of attack in Abuja.
Nigerian troops are fighting jihadist insurgents basically in the northeast, there are small cells in other parts of the country.
Militants linked to the Islamic State organization have claimed responsibility for several attacks near the capital over the past six months, adding a mass escape in July.
The Kuje incident, in which more than 400 detainees and dozens of suspected jihadists escaped, prompted Buhari to say he was “disappointed” with his intelligence services.
But since then, “security measures have been intensified in and around the FCT,” a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s workplace said Friday, mentioning “enhanced surveillance and interception of terrorist communications. “
“Terror is a truth all over the world. However, this means that an attack in Abuja is imminent,” he added.
The president said he had given “assurances that the government is aware of the security situation. “
“The attacks are thwarted. Security guards proactively eliminate threats to remain citizens; Much of his paintings are invisible and necessarily confidential. “
While ordering “additional precautionary measures to be implemented,” Buhari said that “recent adjustments in the recommendations of U. S. governments. “”The U. S. and the U. K. deserve not to panic. “
On Thursday, Nigerian police asked “all strategic police officers at command level and tactical education in the country to be safe in their respective jurisdictions, i. e. in the FCT. “
– Soft goals –
Police Inspector General Usman Alkali Baba said “all emergency numbers” must be activated to help ensure “an immediate reaction 24/7 with combat officers and men on standby. “
They came as the U. S. State Department was in the U. S. Department of State and the U. S. Department of State The U. S. ordered the departure of diplomatic dependents from Abuja.
First, he said on Thursday that non-emergency government workers and their families had been ordered to leave. On Friday, the State Department clarified that the evacuation order was implemented for families and not for workers, who were allowed but not ordered to leave. .
“Terrorists can strike with little or no warning,” buying groceries in shopping malls, markets, hotels, places of worship, restaurants, bars or schools, the State Department said in its country summary for Nigeria.
The United States, Britain, Australia and Canada issued warnings last weekend, the last 3 countries did not order any evacuation of staff or their families on Friday.
Separately, the United States warned this week of a “terrorist” attack imaginable in South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg.
Some European embassies and foreign organizations have not updated their threat evidence or recommendations for Nigeria.
“We don’t have to deal with a crisis, we manage panic,” a senior security official at a foreign organization founded in Abuja told AFP, asking not to be named.
“We don’t know what the motive is (behind the U. S. evacuation). We are taking precautionary measures/actions, but activities are normal,” he added.
On Thursday, Jabi Lake Mall, a major grocery shopping mall in Abuja, temporarily closed for unspecified security reasons.
The Nigerian army is stretched, with foot soldiers deployed in most of the West African country of some two hundred million people.
The last time a jihadist organization, Boko Haram, attacked the city center in 2014.
In addition to the lingering terrorist threat, the capital is also surrounded by states with endemic banditry: bands of armed men who kidnap and kill for ideological reasons.
Analysts have warned that the lack of confidence may worsen as the political campaign for the general election to update Buhari next year begins.
With 2,400 workers representing a hundred other nationalities, AFP covers the world as one of the world’s leading news agencies.