NSC worried over terrorists’ ability to fire rockets in Borno

The National Security Council (NSC) has expressed concern over the ability of terrorists to fire rockets targeting areas in any part of the country.

Before the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari on a one-day working visit on Thursday, the Boko Haram fighters fired rockets into Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, killing at least four children while 16 people sustained injuries.

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Inspector-General of Police Usman Alkali Baba, while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Security Council meeting presided over by the president, said the ability of the terrorists to land rockets was a matter of concern.

He said the terrorists were, however, unable to achieve their objectives with the rocket launch on Thursday.

“They are launching it in major towns, including Maiduguri. It is a concern. And it has been seriously checkmated. There are efforts to continuously checkmate it,” he said.

On whether the security agencies had been able to determine the origin of the rockets, the police boss responded in affirmation, saying it had been done before and after the firing incident occurred.

He said some of the terrorist elements that launched the rockets had been eliminated.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who led the briefing on the security meeting outcome, assured that there was no threat to safety and security in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He spoke on the heels of the leaked memo by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) alerting on an impending terrorist attack.