Security Forces On Red Alert Over Planned Terror Attacks On Abuja Airport, Prison, Military Facility
AP says Nigeria’s security agencies are on red alert over planned terrorist attacks targeting Abuja airport, prison and military facility.
AP says Nigeria’s security agencies are on red alert over planned terrorist attacks targeting Abuja airport, prison and military facility.
Nigeria’s security forces are on high alert over a planned attack by Islamist militants on public infrastructure in Abuja and Niger states, an internal memo dated April 13 obtained from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) by The Associated Press has shown.
The planned targets include the international airport and a prison facility in the capital city of Abuja, as well as a military detention centre in neighbouringNiger state, the AP report stated.
“Their intention is to release detained terrorists and inflict significant damage on critical aviation infrastructure,” the memo noted.
According to the report, the plan mirrors a similar attack in Niger Republic in January, in which Islamist terrorists attacked an air force base in Niamey, the memo read in a warning to customs service personnel.
“An analysis of the report reveals a concerning correlation between the potential targeting of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja and recent large-scale attacks on aviation facilities in Niger Republic, notably in Niamey and Tahoua. This suggests a possible intent by terrorists to replicate the attack patterns within Nigeria,” according to the memo quoted by AP.
In 2022, an attack on the aforementioned prison led to the escape of 879 inmates, including 64 members of the Islamic State West Africa Province, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The military and paramilitary forces are all on high alert and ready to forestall the attack,” a senior customs service personnel member who is not authorised to speak to journalists told AP.
The customs service and the Nigerian military had not responded to AP’s request for comments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north, where there is a decade-long insurgency and several armed groups that kidnap for ransom.
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, known as ISWAP. There is also the IS-linked Lakurawagroup operating in communities in the northwestern part of the country that borders Niger Republic.
The attacks would be carried out by sleeper cells of ISWAP and Boko Haram, the memo said.
Last week, the U.S. authorised its non-emergency government employees and their families to leave the Abuja embassy owing to what it called a spike in terrorist attacks, kidnapping, and violent crimes in the country, especially in the north. The embassy has been shut.
Nigeria’s Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, described the U.S. decision as a “routine precaution guided by internal protocols”, insisting that it does not reflect the overall security situation of the country.
Nigeria has in recent days moved aggressively to fast-track the prosecution and imprisonment of terrorism suspects, marking one of the most significant judicial crackdowns in the country’s counterterrorism efforts.
A key development was the mass trial conducted at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where over 500 terrorism-related cases were brought forward in a coordinated legal push, where the courts secured convictions for about 386 suspects, many of whom entered guilty pleas, with sentences ranging up to 20 years imprisonment.
The accelerated process was part of an initiative by the federal government to clear a backlog of terrorism cases that had lingered for many years.
