THERE are strong indications that veterans of Mali anti Islamist war are already finding their way into Nigerian Northern borders, just as reports indicated that the Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) has activated its sleeping cells across Northern Nigeria.
Security agencies are also said to be in dilemma over the best approach to the counter-terrorism efforts, especially as the jihadists are not just Boko Haram fighters, but Islamists from AQIM and other sects alleged to be involved in attacks on security agencies.
These indications emerged at a meeting of the Maghreb Union held in Rabat, Morroco, last week where Maghreb countries assessed the fallout of the French intervention which led to the exit of Islamist fighters from Northern Mali.
Though Nigeria was not part of the meeting, reports indicated that the ministers and counter-terrorism officials at the meeting reviewed the war efforts and concluded that Islamist fighters had retreated to parts of Algeria, Libya with substantial numbers heading back to border regions of Northern Nigeria via Niger and Chad republics.
The meeting, which agreed on a number of security measures to contain the fallout, was also said to have hinted that AQIM had refocused its operations, which involved kidnapping for ransom, among others, with the retreating fighters said to be attaching themselves to the sleeper cells of the jihadist sect across the identified countries.
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