by Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's defense authorities have said the country is not currently under threat by any local or foreign terrorist groups.
The military, in a statement reaching Xinhua on Thursday, debunked media reports that the ISIS had infiltrated Nigeria, particularly to train members of the local Boko Haram terror group.
It said there was no concrete evidence to support the claim that ISIS was sending its members to Nigeria for that purpose.
The local media had earlier in the week widely reported that the west African country was under a threat by ISIS, quoting a report from a Britain-based newspaper.
The media report, citing unnamed sources, further suggested that "leaders of ISIS are sneaking battle-hardened jihadists from Syria into Nigeria to train terrorists there for possible attacks in Britain."
In 2016, a faction of Boko Haram had pledged its allegiance to the ISIS after the government forces had dislodged them from Sambisa Forest, a former enclave of the terror group in the northern state of Borno.
Defense spokesman John Agim said although the armed forces of Nigeria are aware that there is a collaboration between terrorist groups, the military was capable of nipping their plans in the bud.
"It is important to note that the activity of one group in a country influences other groups in other countries and because of this knowledge, activities of other terrorist groups usually affect our own military strategy," Agim said.
According to him, the Nigerian military was fully prepared to continue to condemn all tactics by terrorist groups and any foreign collaborations.
The Nigerian government, in a separate statement, said its military and paramilitary agencies had tightened security at the nation's international airports and borders.
Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Dambazau said although the government had been prepared long before the information went public, all hands must remain on deck and security agencies must double their efforts.
"You know when information like this comes; you don't take things for granted whether true or not. It is security information," Dambazau said.
Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since 2009.
