Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday called for calm amid alerts by the United States and United Kingdon over a possible terror attack on Abuja, the capital city.
Buhari in a statement by his spokesperson Garba Shehu said Nigeria’s security forces will be vigilant and urged citizens not to panic.
“He urges citizens to remain calm. The recent changes in travel advice from the US and UK governments should not be a cause for panic,” Shehu said.
“Nigeria is no exception in having terror threats listed in foreign government’s travel advice to their citizens. UK and US travel advisories also state there is a high likelihood of terror attacks in many Western European nations. Indeed, the UK and US advice to their respective citizens for travel to one another’s countries contain the same warning. Unfortunately, terror is a reality the world over.”
Buhari noted that the alert does not mean an attack in Abuja is imminent and stated that security measures have been reinforced in and around the FCT to forestall such occerences.
“Heightened monitoring and interception of terrorist communications ensure potential threats are caught further upstream,” Buhari said.
“Attacks are being foiled. Security agents are proactively rooting out threats to keep citizens safe – much of their work unseen and necessarily confidential.”
The President assured Nigerians that their safety remains the highest priority of the government, assuring that security services are working around the clock to keep harm at bay.
While noting that security threats are real and have been in Nigeria for a long while, he said the nation’s military, the police and other security agencies have shown a capability to deal with it.
Buhari commended the military and other security agencies “for the recent turn around in the nation’s security, and directs that additional precautionary measures be put in place and that these must not slacken now, and during the upcoming festive period.”
He expressed optimism that “given the on-going efforts on the part of the military and other security and intelligence agencies with the active support of the civilian population, the nation will emerge victorious against the current challenges facing it.”