Insurgents, secessionists getting foreign support – Military

The Defence Intelligence Agency says insurgents and secessionists are getting foreign support.

Maj.-Gen. Samuel Adebayo, the Chief of Defence Intelligence, stated this in Abuja Monday at the opening of a retreat for Defence Advisers/Attaches Conference.

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The DIA boss, while requesting collaborative efforts from all stakeholders, also said that the conflicts resulting from insurgents’ activities had been confined to the Sambisa Forest and the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin.

“The fluid nature of the threats posed by these enemies of the Nigerian State has once again reinforced the need for collaborative efforts, be it government to government, within the security Services and even through foreign diplomats and DAs.

“The latter is key to eliminating any form of foreign support the insurgents may be leveraging on. Also, the activities of secessionists which threaten the corporate existence of our nation require collaborative action to surmount,” he added.

Speaking on the theme of the conference, ‘Advancing Counterterrorism Efforts through Enhanced Inter-Agency Cooperation: A Whole of Government Approach’, the Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), said the attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North East as well as banditry and herder/militia in the North West and North Central had continued to pose serious security threats to Nigeria.

“Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth, but also food security.

“In particular, food security has been adversely affected with the attendant rise in the prices of food stuff across the country which portends a new dimension of threat.

“This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate to tackle these menaces in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

“It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation,” he said.