Nigerians have been warned of the new tactics terrorist groups are now using to recruit new fighters to help in their cause.
Boko Haram terrorist members
Parents and guardians have been given serious warning to monitor the activities of their children and wards in order to prevent them from being recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or its affiliate Boko Haram.
According to the Federal Government, the terrorist groups now target vulnerable individuals, including foreign students, using financial inducements to recruit them into the terrorist organisation.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who stated this in a statement in Abuja, cited the recent recruitment into ISIS of 27 medical students of the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Sudan as an example of the new strategy being used by the organisation to recruit more members.
The minister, quoting a report which he said was received by the Nigerian Intelligence Community, said “22 of the 27 students, who travelled to Syria to join ISIS, are Britons.”
He said further, “According to the report, the students were recruited by one Mohammed Fakhri Al-khabbas, a former UMST student from Middlesborough, United Kingdom.
“Many of the students are children of reputable doctors in the UK. Their Social Media accounts also revealed them as praising Jihadists and championing ISIS’ cause.”
Mohammed, therefore, appealed to Nigerians, especially those who have children and wards in foreign academic institutions, to pay more attention to their activities, while urging schools across the country to enlighten their students on the new ISIS’ recruitment strategy.