Bulwark Intelligence

Nigerian terrorists in alliance with ISIL, says Osinbajo

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said the Federal Government was aware that terrorists operating within the country are working in alliance with the militant Islamic group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. He said there was the need for countries affected […]

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said the Federal Government was aware that terrorists operating within the country are working in alliance with the militant Islamic group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

He said there was the need for countries affected by activities of the terrorists to cooperate in tackling the evil collaborations.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President spoke while receiving the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Abu Belal Muhammad, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

While promising that Nigeria will continue to cooperate in the global fight against terrorism, Osinbajo renewed the call for international collaboration aimed at tackling the menace.

He said networking among terrorists groups has increased the need for countries to close ranks to counter the threats posed by their activities.

He said, “We are concerned about terrorism not just within our borders, we have also seen the influence of terrorists across borders and how terrorist organisations have cooperated with each other.

“We are aware for instance that some within our own borders are cooperating with ISIL and we think that this sort of evil collaborations must have a response from countries that share similar experiences and can present a credible force against terrorists.

“Terrorism is a major problem and perhaps the most significant problem that the free world will face in the coming years.”

On the Nigeria-Bangladesh relations, the Vice-President said improved cooperation between the Bangladeshi and Nigerian military would go a long way in curbing threats posed by terrorist groups within and around borders of the two countries.

“We have benefitted a lot from some of your experiences in fighting insurgency in Bangladesh and we hope that we benefit even more from those experiences.

“We have had similar problems with Boko Haram and I know that you have also had problems of some sort with terrorist groups within the borders of Bangladesh,” he added.

Osinbajo said Nigeria looked forward to cooperating with the Bangladeshi government across different fronts including defence and the economy.

The Vice-President hoped for collaboration in some other respect like with the Bangladesh Ordinance Factory, saying, “we also have an ordinance factory here at DICON which we are hoping to do a lot with very soon. We hope that there might be ways that we could cooperate especially in the manufacture of ordinances, arms generally and other forms of weaponry.’’

Earlier in his remark, Muhammad said the long standing relationship  between Nigeria and Bangladesh had helped in the career development of many officers of the armed forces of both countries.

He said there was however a need to strengthen relations on the defence and economic fronts to tackle challenges that are peculiar to both countries.

The Bangladeshi Army chief is in Nigeria on a working visit to improve military relations between both countries.

Source:Punch Newspapers

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