The Defence Headquarters on Thursday said it was aware of the activities of Al-Qaeda militants in the North-West.
Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, made the declaration in a statement released in response to warning by the United States over movement of Al-Qaeda fighters into the country.
Noting that it was not the first time the US would raise an alarm over Al-Qaeda activities in Nigeria, Enenche said the army was aware of the development.
According to him, the Nigerian Army had in the past alerted of the movement of terrorists from the Middle East to West Africa.
Stressing that the US warning was not a fresh information, Enenche insisted that the army’s intelligence unit was abreast of the activities of the terror group.
Parts of the statement read,”Our attention is being drawn to the fact that terrorists from other zones are coming here, I think it would be good for us to be keeping records of events as they unfold.
“For me, this is not the first time they are raising such an alarm, the alarm is as old as maybe five or ten years ago and the armed forces and the country is conscious of it.
“When the conflict in Libya was declared officially that it ended, which did not end what happened? It was we, our NIA, state service and all that raised the information that these people are moving.
“Have we not captured foreigners among the people that have been terrorizing us in this country?
“So it is just like a call to keep doing what you are doing, so the general public should know that the security agencies are on top of that one.
“Why do we have ISAWP here now, was ISWAP indigenous to Nigeria, No! So it’s just like telling you the obvious and I want to take like an advice to continue to ensure you have measures in place to continue checking them.”
