Security at Kainji Lake National Park is \u2018getting out of hand\u2019 and is \u2018a much more explosive situation than anticipated\u2019 \u2013 new report by Dutch think tank Clinendael Institute.<\/p>\n
Jihadi fighters, believed to be linked to al-Qaeda, have crossed from neighbouring Benin into a popular national park in northwestern Nigeria and pose a \u201cserious security threat\u201d.<\/p>\n
A report published on Wednesday, June 19, by the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch think tank that has done extensive research in the Sahel, said the fighters had settled in the 5,300 square-kilometre Kainji Lake National Park in Niger State, heightening the security threat in the northwest.<\/p>\n
Other armed groups had also gained access through the park, which is one of Nigeria\u2019s largest, the report said.<\/p>\n
Security at the park was \u201cgetting out of hand\u201d and was \u201ca much more explosive situation than we had anticipated\u201d, said Kars de Bruijne, one of the authors of the report and a senior research fellow at the institute.<\/p>\n
The \u201csustained presence\u201d of the armed groups in the park was the first sign of a connection between Nigeria\u2019s \u201chomegrown extremists\u201d that had launched more than a decade-long insurgency in its northern region and al-Qaeda-linked militants from the Sahel, a vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert, De Bruijne said.<\/p>\n
Their presence offered an opportunity for \u201cextremists to claim large-scale success\u201d in both Nigeria and Benin, which had experienced deadly attacks in recent years, he said.<\/p>\n
The report said the motive of the Sahel extremists in the park or their relationship with other armed groups there was not clear.<\/p>\n
Security analysts said the armed group\u2019s presence offered opportunities for logistics and more influence \u201camid a booming illegal trade across the porous border\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sahelian jihadis potentially can try to use northwestern Nigeria as a place for fundraising for logistics and to try to influence the jihadi groups there as part of their own competition,\u201d said James Barnett, a fellow at the Hudson Institute whose works in northwestern Nigeria were cited in the report.<\/p>\n
Across many villages in Nigeria\u2019s northwest, banditry \u2013 not jihadi fighters \u2013 remained the major security threat, Barnett said.<\/p>\n
The bandits had on \u201cone or two occasions\u201d in the past collaborated with jihadi fighters in carrying out attacks as two separate groups. But even in such a rare collaboration, he said, there could be \u201cvery deadly consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the past, security analysts had warned that remote territories in northwestern Nigeria \u2013 where the government is largely absent but where there are rich mineral resources and the poverty levels are high \u2013 presented an opportunity for expansion for jihadi groups that operated mainly in the Sahel, as well as Islamic State fighters in the Lake Chad basin.<\/p>\n
\u201cA link between Lake Chad and the Sahel is a major opportunity for al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to boast about their profiles as leaders of global jihad,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian military continued to conduct aerial bombardments and deployed personnel in the conflict-ridden northern region, but its security forces were outnumbered in remote villages.<\/p>\n
Regarded as a hot spot for \u201cviolent extremism\u201d, the report said the \u201csecurity crisis\u201d in the Sahel was worsening \u201cas military coups are toppling democratic governments\u201d.<\/p>\n
There had been a surge in extremist attacks in Mali, Burkina-Faso and the Niger Republic.<\/p>\n
The tri-border region in these countries had been affected, with extremist groups, such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, expanding their influence and carrying out attacks on government forces and civilians.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the military governments struggle to contain the violence, they are increasingly severing security with traditional partners France and the United States and turning to Russia for support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benin, which shares borders with Nigeria, the Niger Republic and Burkina Faso, had also experienced an uptick in violent extremism in its northern region.<\/p>\n
That violence had now seeped into Nigeria, the Clingendael Institute said.<\/p>\n
The report said banditry was re-emerging in zones controlled by the Jama\u2019a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), a militant jihadist organisation, in Benin, and the bandits appeared to have Nigerian connections.<\/p>\n
It said the extremists had settled in the Kainji Lake National Park in the Niger and Kebbi states.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvidence suggests this involves Sahelian extremists [likely JNIM]. Another group would be Darul Salam \u2013 a group linked to Boko Haram [Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019way Wa\u2019l-Jih\u0101d or JAS], if not fully affiliated \u2013 with an open attitude towards bandits,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBandits and unidentified armed groups are known to move towards Kebbi State from Sokoto. It is alleged that these include various Darul Salam fighters with links to the Sahel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents close to the Kainji Lake National Park told Associated Press that the facility had been closed for more than a year because of security threats from armed groups attacking neighbouring villages and roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, it was like a tourism centre [but] now, people find it difficult to pass through there,\u201d said John Yerima, who lives near the park in New Bussa town in Niger State. \u201cYou cannot enter that road [leading to the park] now. It is dangerous seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
The park is home to one of West Africa\u2019s fast-declining and \u201ccritically endangered\u201d lion populations.<\/p>\n
Conservationists said the lions were \u201cin danger of extinction\u201d and they were concerned that the presence of armed groups in the park could further threaten the remaining lions whose populations have declined as a result of climate change and poaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe security situation has become top of the list when it comes to the concerns about the lion populations in Nigeria,\u201d said Stella Egbe, a senior conservation manager at the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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