The Nigerian government has said there is no Islamic caliphate in Gwoza, as claimed by the Boko Haram terrorist group.
The Minister of Information, Mr Labran Maku, told reporters on Monday in Abuja that the claims of the group was not true and that the Federal Government was on top of the situation.
“No part of Nigeria has been or will be ceded to any sect or illegal group,” he said.
His statement is the latest reaction on the purported declaration of a caliphate in Gwoza, a community in Borno State, north-east of Nigeria, by the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Mr Abubakar Shekau in a video released on Sunday.
“Thanks be to Allah who has given us victory in Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate. Thanks be to Allah. We are in an Islamic caliphate and we have nothing to do with Nigeria,” Shekau, who spoke in arabic, said in the video published on Youtube by AFP.
Mr Maku pointed out that although there were security challenges in some parts of Nigeria, the military had launched an offensive and that there was no cause for alarm on the part of citizens.
He also defended the deployment of large number of security operatives during isolated state’s elections, insisting that it was for security reasons.
At the briefing, the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ade Abolurin, said that the NSCDC was prepared to defend the integrity of the nation’s general election in 2015.
“Claim Is Empty”
On Sunday, the Nigerian military said that the claims of an Islamic State in Gwoza was empty.
In a tweet on its twitter handle, the Defence Headquarters stated that “the claim is empty, insisting that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact”.
“Any group of terrorists laying claim to any portion of the country will not be allowed to get away with the expression of delusion and crime.
“Appropriate military operations to secure that area from the activities of the bandits is still ongoing,” the tweet read.
The terrorist group had attacked a training camp of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force (PMF) in Gwoza few days ago and 35 officials of the police were said to have been taken away after the attack.
The terrorist group is demanding for an Islamic State and an end to western Education.
In response to the attack, the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, ordered the tightening of security around police facilities in addition to efforts to further protect lives and property.
A police spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, told reporters that an attack on the camp on August 7 was repelled by the Police, but that a fresh offensive was launched on August 20 in which the policemen on duty engaged them in a fierce battle.
“The search and rescue party launched immediately has located and brought to safety all Police officers in the Training College at the time of attack.
“So far, 35 policemen, who are still missing from the facility as a result of the latest attack, are being searched for with very promising prospect of locating them,” he said.
The IGP urged all Nigerians to remain calm and join hands with the security forces in the collective fight against insurgency, restating his determination to work closely with other security agencies to stem the tide of terror.
The Boko Haram sect has carried out series of attacks on villages, churches, schools, mosques and public places in some states in the north.
Three states – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – in the north-east have been placed under a state of emergency that has lasted for over one year to enable the military tackle insurgency in the region.