Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has summoned heads of security agencies for a meeting on Monday in the capital, Abuja, following terror alerts issued recently by several Western countries.
In a statement, the presidency said the meeting was aimed at reviewing and strengthening the security network across the country.
Last week the UK and US had warned that Islamist militants were likely to target government facilities, places of worship and schools in Abuja and its environs.
The US went further to approve the evacuation of its citizens and non- essential staff. The alerts sparked public anxiety and tension across the country.
Meanwhile reports say a top leader of one jihadist group, Iswap, has been arrested and some militants killed as they attempted to free some of their detained leaders being held at a camp in central Niger state.
The militants were reportedly killed by Nigerian troops after they ran into military ambush in New Bussa, Niger state.
Kagame speaks to UN boss over DR Congo crisis
Rwanda’s president has said he’s had a “good discussion” with the UN secretary general about de-escalating the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Conflict has been raging in the region for months between the DR Congo’s army and the M23 rebels who seized two more towns over the weekend.
The situation has prompted the DR Congo government to expel Rwanda’s ambassador to Kinshasa, a decision Rwanda has noted “with regret”.
In a tweet posted on Monday, President Paul Kagame wrote that the “ways and means to de-escalate and address the issues to a peaceful end are with us … We just have to commit ourselves to applying them”.
The African Union has expressed its “extreme concern” at the deteriorating security situation and called for called for an immediate cessation of fighting.
Kinshasa has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23, an accusation Kigali has always denied.
Different initiatives by the Angolan president and the East African Community – which both countries belong to – have been unable to stop the violence and resolve the decades-long conflict.
