According to news reports that surfaced on Wednesday, June 19, Jihadi fighters who have since operated in Africa’s crises-prone Sahel region have settled in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from Benin republic — a neighbouring country.
Experts have reckoned that this is part of the militants latest plan to flock to wealthier West African coastal nations.
According to the Clingendael Institute think-thank (notable for conducting extensive research on the Sahel), the religious extremists who are allegedly linked to al-Qaida have in the past year, crossed into Nigeria’s borders from Benin, an settling in Kainji Lake National Park, one of the largest in Nigeria, and where consequently, other armed groups have also gained access to.
Residents who live close to the park have told newsmen that the National park which holds one of West Africa’s fast-declining lion populations, has been shut down for over a year due to insecurity.
The security situation at the Kainji Lake park in Niger state and along the nearby border with Benin is “getting out of hand” and has become “a much more explosive situation than we had anticipated,” according to Kars de Bruijne, one of the authors of the report who is also a senior research fellow at the institute.
There are fears that the continued presence of the armed groups in the national park is the first signs of a connection between Nigeria’s terrorists (responsible for the decade-long insurgency ravaging the northern region), and the al-Qaida-linked militants from the Sahel.
This fear is not far-fetched as the Jihadi fighter’s presence provides an opportunity for theses extremists to launch large-scale attacks in both countries, already ravaged by insecurity in recent years.
The worsening crises in the Sahel region (notable for being the global hotspot for violent extremism) is coming at a time when military coups are rife, burgeoning and overthrowing democratic governments.
Military governments are not left out as they are battling to contain the violence, even as they are continuously cutting ties with the security offered them by traditional partners like France and the U.S and turning to Russia for aid.
In Nigeria’s northwest, security pundits have previously warned that the region’s remote territories, lacking adequate security personnel and government presence but abundant in mineral resources and high poverty levels, was a bubbling pot offering opportunity for Jihadi and Islamic State groups to expand and dig their claws and assume leadership in the region.
Meanwhile, conservationists have shared their fears, saying that the presence of armed groups in the park could further threaten the remaining lions whose populations have reduced due to poaching and climate change.
The anxiety is worsened by the fact that the park and most protected wildlife areas in Nigeria are poorly manned, making them easy targets for the armed groups.
Although aerial bombardments are often conducted by the Nigerian military in the conflict-prone Northwest region, it should be noted that the armed forces stationed there are not only fatigued by the decade-long war but are also outnumbered and outgunned in a region where the primary cause of the conflict –poverty is mainstay.
The Clingendael report had revealed that it is unsure of the exact motive of the Sahel extremists in the park and their relationship with other armed groups in the region but security experts have said that their continued presence offers opportunities for logistics and more influence amid booming illegal trade across the porous border.
In as much the jihadi fighter presence should be taken care of, one should not forget the elephant in the room —bandits and banditry— which is still the major security threat in the country.
What They’re Saying
Stella Egbe, a senior conservation manager at the Nigerian Conservation Foundation had said,
“The security situation has become top of the list when it comes to the concerns about the lion populations in Nigeria.”
