Connect with us

General News

Insecurity: ISWAP’s High-Speed Internet Access, Experiment With Drones Worrisome – Bukarti

Published

on

ISWAP

A Senior Fellow, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Bulama Bukarti, has raised the alarm over the acquisition of high-speed Internet access by the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and its drone experiments for intelligence-gathering and possible combat.

Bukarti made the disturbing revelations during a live appearance on the Friday edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“There are very worrying developments in Africa, including in the Lake Chad region, where we have the IS affiliate, ISWAP — that is, Islamic State’s West Africa Province — upping its capacity,” he said.

“And that’s because it is getting money, it is getting training, it is getting guidance from ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Part of the most worrying developments we have seen, as far as the use of the Internet or the use of technology is concerned, are two.”

In the past few months, Bukarti stated, security intelligence has been gathered showing that ISWAP has successfully been able to improve their access to the Internet.

“Before now, when ISWAP would want to use the Internet to post communication or to download something, they would need to go to cities like Maiduguri and they would struggle for hours to get access to the Internet,” he said.

“But from the last few months, we started getting evidence showing that ISWAP has now started to get access to Thuraya, that is, satellite Internet services were provided by Thuraya.

“They are buying them from Lagos and then from Chad, and therefore, they now have high-speed Internet connectivity in the remote areas of the Lake Chad region. They are using it to communicate; they are using it to coordinate attacks.”

The security expert disclosed that the insurgents had a vehicle with Thuraya Internet hardware mounted used while carrying out attacks to communicate with terrorists in other locations, including Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and ISIS operatives across the world.

“The second worrying development has to do with ISWAP’s use of drones,” Bukarti revealed. “ISWAP started using drones like five years ago.

“We saw in the videos, their fighters trying to fly the small commercial drones and they were laughing; they were shocked at how it was flying, and then they started using it for their propaganda.”

According to the security expert, the insurgents would take drone footage of their attacks as well as drone photos of their fighters and use them for their propaganda, in addition to gathering intelligence on the military.

“In one attack, for example, before they attacked, they took a drone photo of a military base they were going to attack and then they attacked when they saw what was inside,” he said.

Bukarti further stated that the third phase of the ongoing development had to do with ISWAP trialling arming delivery drones.

“They have started to experiment how to put explosives on those drones and if they’ve succeeded in doing that, then we would start to see attacks unfortunately from the air, which would not require any fighters or suicide bombers and that would be deadly and would prolong the crisis in the Lake Chad region,” he explained.

Describing the development as “a very worrying development,” the security expert highlighted the need for the Federal Government to redouble its efforts to investigate where ISWAP was getting the Internet and drones from, as well as ensuring that the supply routes are blocked.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

General News

Clergy Urged To Put Members’ Welfare Above All Else

Published

on

Anglican Church logo

At a solemn ordination service in Abuja, senior church leaders have called on pastors to make the well-being of their congregations a top priority, following the example of Jesus Christ.

Speaking during the priesthood ordination and installation of a Sub Dean at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, the retired Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ajulo, described pastors as shepherds charged with the care of their flock. He urged them to shun worldly distractions and focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of their members.

Bishop Ajulo also encouraged the newly ordained priests to remain faithful to their calling by teaching God’s word without compromise.

In his charge, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged the new clergy to preach the undiluted gospel and foster religious harmony wherever they serve. He expressed confidence that their new roles would help promote peace and unity in society.

The service also featured prayers for national leaders and divine intervention in addressing the current global economic challenges.

Continue Reading

General News

1,000 Prayer Warriors Storm Ilorin for Tinubu, Nation’s Deliverance

Published

on

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

In a dramatic show of faith and patriotism, over 1,000 fiery prayer warriors from across Nigeria will descend on Ilorin, Kwara State, this Saturday, lifting their voices in intense intercession for President Bola Tinubu’s success and Nigeria’s survival in the face of biting economic woes and mounting insecurity.

The spiritual siege, themed “Walking in Domini”, is the maiden convention of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), with its Kwara State Chairman, Evangelist Thomas Adeboye, vowing that “heaven will hear and respond to Nigeria’s cry.”

Aside from marathon prayers, the gathering will roll out free medical outreach to locals across Kwara’s LGAs, a gesture aimed at touching both body and soul.

Adeboye, lamenting Nigeria’s “troubling economic and security realities”, called for a nationwide prayer uprising, insisting that Tinubu has shown the will to revive the nation but needs massive divine backing to succeed.

“Banditry, a collapsing economy, and political tension demand we seek God’s face like never before,” he declared. “We will storm heaven for wisdom for the President and governors to steer Nigeria to safety.”

The convention will also feature awards to distinguished personalities, soul-lifting worship, fiery sermons, and unity-driven lectures—all capped with thunderous prayers for Nigeria’s redemption.

Adeboye urged the President to ensure every policy has “a human face,” stressing that Nigerians must not only endure but also enjoy the fruits of governance.

With the OAIC promising to reaffirm believers’ authority in Christ and rally spiritual boldness in the face of national challenges, Ilorin is set to become the epicentre of a powerful spiritual warfare for Nigeria’s destiny.

 

 

Continue Reading

General News

Nigerian Anglicans Condemn Lesbian Archbishop of Wales, Deepening Global Anglican Rift

Published

on

Anglican Church logo

…Church leaders accuse Welsh counterparts of “spiritual decadence” and “abandonment of faith”

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has issued a forceful condemnation of the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. The move is the latest in a series of developments that have deepened divisions within the global Anglican Communion over sexuality and doctrine.

In a statement from Primate The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the church denounced the election as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a sign of “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”

Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation compromises the Anglican Church’s global mission and could obstruct evangelism. He compared the situation to the controversial tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, who also faced intense criticism from conservative Anglicans for her progressive views.

The Primate accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” around same-sex issues, stating that the election is a “clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

The Church of Nigeria called on Anglicans worldwide to reject “rebels” and “apostates” and to instead support conservative bodies like the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).

“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. He concluded with a solemn warning that without repentance, the Church in Wales risks losing “complete relevance” and its leaders will face judgment.

 

Continue Reading