A New Breed Of Sahel Jihadists Have Crossed Into Nigeria, Recent Reports Say: See What Nigerians Need To Know And Do

On June 19, 2024, Associated Press reported that “Jihadi fighters who had long operated in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have settled in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from neighboring Benin”. According to the report, this would be “the latest trend in the militants’ movement to wealthier West African coastal nations”.

Based on a June 2024 publication by Netherlands-based Clingendael Research Institute reputed to have done extensive research on the Sahel, the AP report expresses a belief that the jihadists here in question are linked to al-Qaida and have since settled within Kainji Lake National Park in Nigeria’s Niger State “where other armed groups have also gained access”.

According to first hand information from residents who spoke to the Associated Press reporters, the highly important national park “has been closed for more than a year because of security threats from armed groups attacking neighboring villages and roads”.

From Tourism To Terrorism

Talking about the road leading to Kainji Lake National Park, a resident identified as John Yerima told the AP reporters that it once bubbled with tourists but now, “people find it difficult to pass through there. You cannot enter that road now. It is dangerous, seriously.”

A More Serious Situation Than Expected, The Researchers Say

The AP report quotes Kars de Bruijne, a senior research fellow at Clingendael and a co-author of the research report as saying that the situation had already spiraled out of control and is “a much more explosive situation than we had anticipated”.

Bruijne is further quoted as saying that the “sustained presence” of the terror groups within the Kainji Lake National Park is “the first sign of a connection between Nigeria’s homegrown extremists…and al-Qaida-linked militants from the Sahel”.

A Word For Nigerians: A Stitch In Time

If this report is true, then it is a clear sign that the insecurity levels in Nigeria is far from subsiding. Instead, it is very obvious that the road ahead is much more murky for everyone in Nigeria…unless the situation is approached with all the urgency that it deserves.

As you can see from the report, the vicinity of the Kainji National Park that was bubbling with tourists only a year ago is now a completely dangerous place as a result of this new breed of terrorists within the Nigerian borders. It shows how fast things can deteriorate.

Over the years, our observation is that Nigerians are very poor at heeding warnings. Instead, they seem to prefer to wait for the worst to happen before they fill the air with complaints.

In any case, we've listened to the report from these authoritative sources. The question now is “what can we do to prevent the worst from happening?”.

No one should expect much from the Nigerian governments. For one thing, these are the governments whose complacency in relation to the welfare of the citizens, is well known. Of course, it is thanks to this criminal complacency that the insecurity levels in the country have deteriorated to such abysmal levels.

So, only citizen action can prevent the worst that we can all see is about to happen. As a matter of urgency, Nigerians should be on the street right now demanding that their governments should look into this report and take transparent actions - ie. the citizens should be aware of what the government is doing to identify and flush out the terrorists told about in the report.

Nigerians can hardly afford suffering new levels of extremist jihadism backed by no less than al-Qaida, on top of the currently deeply decaying economy. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

Or, what else do YOU think should be done here? Say it below. We are all security stakeholders in our own right. And, expect more from us on this as this present bit is already getting too long. Thank you.