Following warnings from the United States and Britain about a serious “terror” threat in the capital Abuja, Nigeria announced on Friday that it has increased security and urged the public to exercise caution but restraint.
The US on Thursday issued a travel warning for diplomats’ families out of Abuja citing a “heightened danger of terrorist attacks” without providing any other information.
Several incidents close to the city in the last six months have been claimed by militants associated with the Islamic State group, including a large-scale prison break in July.
More than 400 prisoners, including dozens of suspected terrorists, fled during the event in Kuje, which led Buhari to express his “disappointment” with his intelligence services.
But since then, “security measures have been reinforced in and around the FCT,” a statement from President Muhammadu Buhari’s office said on Friday, citing “heightened monitoring and interception of terrorist communications.”
“Terror is a reality the world over. However, it does not mean an attack in Abuja is imminent,” it added.
The president said he gave his “assurances that the government is on top of the security situation.”
“Attacks are being foiled. Security agents are proactively rooting out threats to keep citizens safe –- much of their work unseen and necessarily confidential.”
While he ordered “additional precautionary measures be put in place,” Buhari said that “the recent changes in travel advice from the US and UK governments should not be a cause for panic.”
On Thursday, Nigerian police instructed, “all strategic police managers in charge of commands and tactical formations within the country to beef up security in their respective jurisdictions, especially in the FCT.”
The Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba said “all emergency numbers” should be activated to help ensure “a 24/7 prompt response with combatant officers and men on standby.”
The statement came as the US State Department ordered the departure of diplomatic dependents from Abuja.
In its original statement on Thursday, it claimed that non-emergency government workers and their families had been told to depart. The State Department emphasized on Friday that while personnel had been authorized but not forced to evacuate, the order only applied to families.
“Terrorists may attack with little or no warning,” targeting malls, markets, hotels, places of worship, restaurants, bars or schools, the State Department said in its country summary for Nigeria.
Last weekend, warnings were issued by the US, UK, Australia, and Canada; but, as of Friday, none of those three countries had ordered the evacuation of employees or their families.
Also, the US issued a warning this week about a potential “terrorist” strike in Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa.
“We have no crisis to manage, we are managing the panic,” a senior security manager with an international organisation based in Abuja told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.
“We don’t know what the motive is (behind the US evacuation). We are taking some precautionary measures/actions, but activities are normal,” he added.
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