Description: Following last week’s intense activities by terrorist networks in the northwest parts of Nigeria, the country’s military has conducted a larger ground offensive using air support to neutralize more than 30 jihadists in the Kankara area of Katsina State. During the offensive, the military also retrieved up to 76 hostages abducted by the jihadists in last week’s attack on a mosque in Unguwan Mantau where more than fifty people lost their lives. Prominent group of Nigerian academics, businesspeople and political figures raised concerns regarding the upsurge in violence which has caused the displacement of more than two million people and has resulted in the deaths of more than 10 thousand people. The group reportedly suggested for a Presidential Task Force to be established in order to tackle terrorist threats with wide ranging jurisdictions. Nigeria battles Boko Haram offshoots ISWAP (Islamic State of West Africa Province) and JAS (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal – Jihad) in the country’s northeast and threats originating from armed bandits in the western parts of the country.
Impact: Nigeria’s struggle to contain threats from terrorist organizations and local militants would further intensify as the military expands its operations in the regions mostly impacted by the collusion between terrorist networks and bandits. The initiative pushed by the country’s group of academics, businesspeople and politicians could gain support and political traction within the country’s ruling establishment as a legitimate method of countering the security threats in the country. Terrorist organizations would continue to sophisticate their methods of conducting attacks and ensuring operational continuity over large portions of territory which signals and highlights the need for large – scale coordination and intergovernmental cooperation between Nigeria’s security services in order to tackle the growing threats. The security situation remains highly unstable where comprehensive operational and political coordination is necessary to suppress the exponential security threats such as the collusion between local militants and larger terrorist organizations.