Terror warning!!!!.....Boko Haram, Ansaru target Lagos, others...

Terror groups have begun a recruitment drive in the South-West with the aim of establishing

cells in the zone, Saturday PUNCH’s investigations have shown.

The recruitment drive by the Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan, it was gathered, was a prelude to attacks they were planning to launch in the zone.

The idea is to establish cells within the South-West to coordinate attacks within the zone by identifying fundamentalists in the area.

A security source, who disclosed this, said the plan to move to the South-West, particularly Lagos, was hinged on the economic importance of the zone.

Investigations showed that the groups reasoned that attacks on the South-West would not only affect the country’s economy, but could also precipitate ethnic clashes across the country.

It was learnt that major towns the groups planned to attack included Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Osogbo.

Investigations showed that the planned attacks would include planting of bombs at public buildings, on roads and outright suicide bombings.

Besides Northerners living in the South-West, the groups, it was gathered, were also zeroing in on people from the zone as their potential members.

A highly placed security source told one of our correspondents that the terror organisations had hitherto found it difficult to penetrate South-West.

He said that they were targeting people from the zone with the hope that such people would assist them in establishing cells in the area.  The security source told one of our correspondents that, “There is no doubt terror groups have their eyes on the South-West. Their plan is to spread their activities to the zone, which has a high Muslim population.

“People they are planning to recruit include Northerners living in the South-West as well as Yoruba that have the same religious belief with them. It is part of their plan to spread Jihad to Africa.”

It was gathered that the attacks were part of measures by the groups to protest Nigeria’s intervention in the Malian crisis.

Culled - Punch

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