The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has pledged to pursue and neutralise every terrorist group operating in Nigeria regardless of the name it adopts after the emergence of a group called Wulowulo in Nasarawa State was reported to security authorities.
Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule disclosed the presence of Wulowulo on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting with security agencies in Lafia. He described the group as a possible splinter of Boko Haram that is beginning to infiltrate the North-Central region and warned that its activities could worsen insecurity in the zone.
At a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the DHQ’s Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, said the military would judge armed outfits by the threat they pose, not by the labels they choose. “Anybody can just jump up and give himself a name or name his group and say he is a splinter from another terrorist organisation. We all know them as criminals, terrorists, and bandits,” he said.
“Call yourself whatever name you like, you are a terrorist, you are a bandit, and we will go after you,” Major General Kangye added. “Our role as the armed forces with terrorists is twofold: it is either we fix an appointment with them and their maker, or we fix it between them and the judicial system.”
Governor Sule urged tighter countermeasures during the Lafia meeting, calling on security agencies and community leaders to step up intelligence gathering and collaborate more closely to prevent the group from gaining a foothold. He warned that the group’s spread could undermine fragile gains in local security and displace more communities.
The DHQ statement underlined that Nigeria’s military and security agencies remain on alert and will respond to any incursions or violent acts by the purported Wulowulo faction. It also stressed the importance of coordinated operations and the support of local authorities to identify and isolate armed cells before they expand.
