Boko Haram Threat: Afenifere Urges Southwest Residents To Stay Alert

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Monday, April 21st, 2014

Ayo Balogun, Lagos

Following the threats posed by Boko Haram, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has called on traditional institutions and residents of the Southwest to be on the alert in view of recent claims by the terrorist group that they are strategically positioned in the city.

Afenifere said the recent claims by Boko Haram in the latest video released to AFP to the effect that, “we are in your city and you don’t know where we are,” should not be taken lightly as the group might have infiltrated the Southwest too.

In the video, the sect’s assumed leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the Nyanya Bombing and threatened “more imminent attacks” across the country.

ARG’s National Chairman, Hon. Olawale Oshun is therefore calling on all the residents in the South West of Nigeria to take this threat very seriously, and be vigilant.

“We call on the residents to report to security agencies, monarchs, traditional leaders and the offices of the governors any suspicious movement of men and materials that come to their notice.

“ARG wishes to alert the traditional institutions, from the highly revered monarchs to the Baales (the village heads) and Mogajis (Clan Heads), to their responsibility towards their subjects in this dire time.

“All the leaders of our people at every level would have no reason, through acts of omission or commission, to allow total strangers over-run their domains. The time for the traditional institutions to become active and responsive as the guardian of our values is now. The kings and village heads should be ready to accept responsibility for any security failure in their domain, and we dare say that being urban should be no excuse,” he said.

Oshun warned that being visited with a terror attack would amount to a declaration of war on the peace loving people of Yorubaland, in as much as the Yoruba people have always been peaceful and are not, whether directly or indirectly, complicit in the collapse of development and security factors which have been labelled as responsible for the rise of terrorism.

“We need to add that the Yoruba people will neither fold their arms if attacked and will be forced to respond in whatever shape or form deemed fit,” he stated.