The Presidency on Tuesday said there was no cause for alarm over the recent threat by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, that he would return to the country “with hell.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement made available to journalists.
Shehu said the Presidency viewed the threat as a mere distraction.
He said Nigerians had nothing to fear because the present administration was ready to defend the nation’s territory against any threat.
He added that the administration was in touch with other friendly nations and has been assured of their commitment to the sovereignty of the nation.
The statement read, “The Presidency wishes to restate that Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari is strong enough to defend its territory against any threat, assuring all Nigerians that there is no reason to worry about the hollow outburst by Nnamdi Kanu, the disputed leader of IPOB on returning to the country ‘with hell.’
“Instead, we see the re-enactment of his bizarre, episodic threat as a mere distraction which will not be allowed to detract from the existing cordial relationships between Nigeria and other countries.
“The Buhari administration is in constant touch with other friendly nations and has the best assurances that they would continue to reciprocate the respect Nigeria has for the sovereignty of their nations. Nigerians have nothing to fear from this.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has also claimed that the spike in terrorist activities in the last three months could be attributed to the rainfall.
Shehu said rainy season causes poor visibility which adversely affects the anti-terror activities including aerial surveillance of the military.
The President’s spokesman said this on Tuesday during an interview on Sunrise Daily, a breakfast show on Channels Television.
When asked why there was an increase in terrorist activities, he said, “At some point, targets had been set for them to finish off Boko Haram before the rains came and of course, unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Bu the rains and the growth and the bushes, the thickness of the forest complicate things for the military.
“There is no doubt about that. But as we are coming out of that you will see that things will become easier. Visibility improves. It is a wide Sahel and you can see far distances and the aircraft in the sky can see and monitor and support ground forces.
“So, the challenges in the environment also have an impact on how these challenges are confronted. In 2017, it is on record that the killing by Boko Haram went down by 80 per cent as opposed to 2015. It is not controvertible.”
On what was being done to rescue Leah Sharibu and other persons in captivity, Shehu said he could not say for sure if a ransom had been paid for the release of any captives in the past.
“I have not been briefed on if money was paid at any point,” he said, adding that it was important not to enrich terrorists in the name of paying ransom.
