The Federal Government on Wednesday reacted to the United States of America’s embassy warning that the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram may be planning new attacks against hotels and other areas in Abuja saying that there is no cause for alarm.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku while responding to questions from journalists at the end of this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, said that all the organisations, both local and foreign, operating in the Nigeria should avoid statements that could cause panic in the country.
“Whereas we believe that every country has a duty to secure its citizens and take decisions that will ensure the safety of their nationals, we have always appealed to such embassies and agencies not to create public panic in our country,” Mr Maku said.
The Minister further said that the Nigerian security agencies “have over the last year increased their capacity to respond to some of the threats, particularly within this city and several other cities.”
The US embassy in Nigeria had earlier on Wednesday warned that Islamist group Boko Haram may be planning attacks against hotels or other areas in the capital Abuja.
“The US embassy has received information that Boko Haram may be planning attacks in Abuja, Nigeria, including against hotels frequently visited by Westerners,” an emergency message to US citizens on its website said.
“The US government has no additional information regarding the timing of these possible attacks. The Nigerian government is aware of the threat and is actively implementing security measures.”
It gave no further information on the threats.
The police authority has however said they were not aware of any “special threat” of attack.
The US issued a similar message in November that drew harsh criticism in Nigeria. No attacks occurred in Abuja in the wake of the November warning.
A US diplomat at the time however said the warning was based on specific and credible information, adding that the embassy had no choice but to warn American citizens.
The Islamist Boko Haram sect has carried out scores of attacks, mainly in Nigeria’s predominately Muslim north, that have killed more than 1,000 people since mid-2009.
