By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria’s secret police said Wednesday it had foiled a plot by Daesh-affiliated terrorists to bomb embassies of the United Kingdom and the United States as well as other Western targets in the country's capital Abuja.
Tony Opuiyo, spokesman of Nigeria’s secret police, said in a statement that at least five militants connected to the plot have been arrested in Abuja and central Nigeria’s Benue state.
“On March 25-26, 2017, the service busted a ring of [Daesh]-linked Boko Haram members based in Benue state and the FCT” or Federal Capital Territory, Opuiyo said.
“The group had perfected plans to attack the U.K. and American embassies and other Western interests in Abuja. During the operation to thwart this plan, five key suspects, namely Isa Jibril, Jibril Jibril, Abu Omale Jibril, Halidu Sule, and Amhodu Salifu, were arrested,” he added.
Opuiyo said another 20-year-old Boko Haram fighter, Adamu Datti, was tracked down in the town of Fika in the northeastern Yobe state on March 22.
“[Datti] confessed his involvement in executing the sinister activities of the group,” he added.
Boko Haram, a faction of which is officially affiliated to Daesh, has long targeted Western interests in Nigeria.
Ryan Cummings, a Johannesburg-based counterterrorism analyst, called the terrorism claim plot “plausible”.
“From a [Daesh] perspective, a [Boko Haram] high-profile attack is long overdue, especially since the prevailing narrative is one of factionalism/defeat,” he said of the secret police claim.
“An attack on the U.K. or U.S. embassy would demonstrate strength, be a reprisal for U.K./U.S. terrorism initiatives, and spare innocent Muslim civilians,” he added.
Boko Haram’s Al-Barnawi faction, linked to recent plots, has sought to distance itself from indiscriminate attacks on mosques and Muslim civilians.