ISIS In Nigeria A ‘Growing Threat’ To Britain – UK Defence Secretary

The U.K Defense Secretary, Gavin Williamson has warned that ISIS terrorists in Nigeria, pose a ‘growing threat’ to the security of Britain.

The U.K Daily Mail revealed Monday that the British troops were currently training local forces in a push to crush a wave of terror in the region which could directly spread to Europe.

Williamson, who visited British troops deployed on a counter-terror training mission in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state where Boko Haram has unleashed attacks, said that there were fears that if terrorism was left to fester, the Islamic extremists could establish a caliphate across the region, as IS did in parts of Iraq and Syria and plot attacks on the West.

“When we look at it more broadly, when we look at the greater threat, organisations such as Boko Haram or Daesh [the Arabic acronym for IS] do not respect international borders.

“We see that as a potential and growing threat to the United Kingdom.

“By dealing with the threat here in Nigeria, it keeps the streets of Britain safe as well,” Williamson said.

The statement of the U.K Defence Secretary could be said to contradict the earlier comments made by Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed who had maintained that the President Muhammadu Buhari led government has defeated Boko Haram.

The Minister while speaking with journalists after a media tour in the United States in April said under the present government, the insurgents were no longer in control of any territory, hence the declaration that they have been defeated.

“When the government says Boko Haram is defeated, it is from the context of what it was when it came in and what we are today. People have forgotten that less than three or four years ago, people in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, could not sleep with their two eyes closed.

“That four years ago, the insurgents used to stroll into Abuja at will and no building was sacred to them. I mean they were so bold they attacked the force headquarters.

“They attacked the UN headquarters, they attacked newspapers head office, Nyanya Motor Park was attacked twice and states and towns like Suleja, Kano, Sokoto, Kogi, Borno, were game for them.

“So, when we say we have defeated Boko Haram, it is precisely what we mean. Today, nightlife has returned to Maiduguri, weekly football leagues are being played in Maiduguri, schools have been reopened, roads have been reopened.

“It was a far cry from when we went in 2015 because between Bama and Maiduguri where we went to, there was no singular vehicle on the road,” Mohammed said.