Nigeria’s security agencies are ramping up their vigilance due to potential threats from the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), only 12 days following a devastating suicide bombing in Gwoza, Borno State, which resulted in at least 20 fatalities.
The suicide bombings were linked to a faction of Boko Haram, from which ISWAP has splintered.
The Nigerian government has discreetly instructed all relevant security bodies to brace for possible attacks.
According to Premium Times, an intelligence memo dated July 10th suggests ISWAP’s plan might include targets such as prisons and key oil and gas infrastructure.
Detailed in the memo, high-risk targets include notable correctional facilities like Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, Kaduna Central Prison, Port Harcourt Maximum Prison, and Kirikiri Correctional Center in Lagos.
The Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) pipeline, a significant gas transportation project managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is also at risk.
Security agencies have been directed to extend their vigilance to cover not just the mentioned sites but also other potential targets.
While specific details of the memo and the agency it was intended for remain confidential to protect operational integrity, the general alertness level has been significantly raised.
Statements from two major security agencies corroborated the existence of the threat, although they stopped short of confirming the specifics of the ISWAP plans.
The spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Umar Abubakar, who spoke with the platform, emphasized that the service takes these threats seriously and is implementing necessary security measures to safeguard its facilities, even though official confirmation of the threat had not yet been communicated internally.
He said, “Don’t forget that we have synergy with the Nigeria Police, the military and other security agencies. I’m not sure I have such information on my table, but that is not to say that we would take it for granted.
We will make sure that we work around the information and see other protective measures that we can put in place across all our custodial centres.
I cannot speak on the intelligence information you mentioned now, but I’m sure that such a plan would not work because of the security put in place in our custodial centres.”
Similarly, the spokesperson for the maritime arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Adams Alliu, a commodore, without specifically addressing the fresh ISWAP threat, said the Nigerian Navy is keeping 24-hour surveillance on the maritime space, including the creeks.
“Concerning the pipelines, the pipeline security and the maritime domain awareness security is 24-hour surveillance, and there’s no space in the 24 hours that is a gap that can be exploited. Especially since President Tinubu took over, it has been 24 hours of 100 per cent surveillance,” Mr Alliu said.
