The Defence Headquarters says claims that suspected ISIS operatives and insurgents have infiltrated Oke-Ogun in Oyo state are just an alarm.
It comes after Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kakanfo-in-Council, was said to have disclosed the concern in a communique after a meeting of the council.
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“More worrisome, the intelligence report also reveal that suspected ISIS operatives have positioned themselves in Niger State via Ibaruba land and are now within the Oke-Ogun corridor of Oyo State,” he said.
“Indeed, the Intel also reveal that about 500 power bikes and assorted ammunition belonging to the terrorists have been sighted along the abandoned Lusada route moving towards Sokoto, from Igbo-Ora in Oyo State.”
But the Defence HQ says the community is only amplifying already issued security advisories.
“From the report I have, it is just that one where the U.S. AFRICOM advised and cautioned us about, so I believed that is what people are magnifying,” said Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, coordinator of Defence Media Operations.
“But I can tell you that we have put machinery in place together with other security agencies,” he said, answering questions from newsmen at the updates briefing on military operations across the country on Thursday in Abuja.
“So, we should be careful, because we get such stories everyday, which may be fake, though it could be true, but we don’t overlook such things.
“So, my response is that it is not new and if it is new, tell the public that we have every machinery in place together with other security agencies as usual to handle it with their cooperation.
“Thank God that it is the civilians that are providing the information, they need to provide it and as they provide, all the contingencies put in place to address the issue, “he said.
He said that the security agencies in the country had been working and they would deal with the situation accordingly.
He gave assurance that the collective efforts of the entire security agencies in the country including the general public was going to help the military in addressing the situation.
(NAN)
