Nigeria’s top cop, Mike Okiro, has alleged plans by the global terrorist group Al-Qaeda to bomb some parts of the country, and has therefore put his men on the alert to forestall such attacks.
The local media Saturday quoted Okiro as telling a conference of senior police officers at the Obudu Resort in southern Cross River Friday that the plan was revealed through ‘security reports’.
“The Al-Qaeda network has threatened to send time bombs to Nigeria. The AIG (Assistant Inspector-General) Surveillance should intensify surveillance, while the CP (Commissioner of Police) Airwing, CP Border Patrol and the CPs of all the commands should be on the alert and ensure that these items (bombs) do not pass through their end,” Okiro said.
It was not the first time the police would announce threats by Al-Qaeda to attack targets in Nigeria, whose 140 million people is almost equally divided between Christians and Muslims, though the country also boasts of a sizable number of animists.
In 2002, security agents were placed on the alert after the fugitive Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden urged Muslims in Nigeria and some other countries to topple their governments.
Last year, some Nigerians said to be linked to Al-Qaeda were arrested on charges of planning to attack some targets in the country and are currently undergoing trial. Panapress .
