NSA reveals to clerics Islamic groups sponsoring terrorism

NSA Babagana Monguno has listed no fewer than four organisations promoting terrorism in Nigeria and across some part of Africa.

Monguno said Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin, JNIM, Islamic and Muslim Support Group, and Islamic State in Greater Sahara, ISGS, as organizations behind terrorism in Nigeria and Africa.

He disclosed this while speaking at the 14th Workshop of the League of Ulamas, Preachers and Imams of Sahel countries in Abuja on Tuesday.

“Terrorism and the rapid escalation of violent activities by militant Islamist groups in the Sahel since 2016 have been primarily driven by the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS), which mainly operates in Mali and extends to the Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.

“It is bolstered by activities of groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), the Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM) and ISGS, which have continued to pose an imminent threat to the stability of the region.

“In Nigeria, Boko-Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) dominate terrorist activities, especially in the North-Eastern part of the country.

“The situation in the Sahel has never been grimmer, extremist violence continues to spread; the number of internally displaced persons (IDPS) is growing; and food insecurity is affecting more people than ever before,” he said.

The retired general then advise clerics to use their vantage position to curb terrorism.