State Emissary, November 2017. Issue 1 2017 Edition | Page 42

SM | DEVELOPMENT
While the botched attempt by the Nigeria-born,
UK/Yemen-trained Abdul Mutalab may have failed, it
however signaled a more dangerous development in
our understanding of terrorism. The event, while
underscoring the existence of yet a potent force
within radical Islam to recruit, train, and foment more
terrorist activities, directly challenges the successes
or failures of the anti-terrorism campaign. More than
anything else, the development signals an increasing
latitude between global terrorist networks and local
elements in places hitherto unrelated to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. For instance, counter terrorism
measures embarked upon by Egypt led to a situation
whereby a number of terror groups’ leaders and
supporters fled Egypt to different location in Africa
and the Middle East. From these bases, they not only
supported myriad of causes, but also contributed to
the establishment of transnational terror
organizations across Africa and the Middle East.
Algeria.
The rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria, the exploits of Al-
Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the take-over
by the Arab Movement of the Azawad in Mali, and other
constellations of terrorist groups in West Africa in
general have been linked to, among other things, the
US-led global campaign on terrorism as well as to the
fall of Gadhafi in Libya. Just as members of al-Jihad and
al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya fled to Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries to unite with
others and stage bigger terror attacks on the US, so
Islamic fundamentalists who were uprooted from
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gadhafi’s Libya were believed to
have teamed together in different parts of West Africa
and the Maghreb to continue their Jihads against real or
perceived US interests.
Through networks of clandestine organizations, Asari
Dokubo, a leader of one of Nigeria’s terrorist groups,
This trend has spiked in recent times. A few months procured resources for defraying cost of arms and
after the 9/11 terrorist attack, a
ammunition as well as to
group of religious extremists, the
purchase a facility in South
“ The local and global terrorist
Muhajirun (the migrants),
groups, as the examples have shown, Africa. On the outward, these
emerged in Northern Nigeria
serve one another. On the one hand, clandestine organizations and
from neighboring Niger
network of groups appear to be
the local terrorist groups provide
Republic. The aim of this group
religious
and devoted to religious
manpower for the global terrorist
and their followers in Yobe State
causes,
but,
more often than not,
groups, who, on the other hand,
and Maiduguri, capital of Borno
their
operational
character was
contribute to the local groups by
State, was to ensure the
clandestine, covert, limited to
providing training and other
introduction of the Shari’a legal
members and was aimed at
resources. .
code. Although the Nigerian
preventing infiltration from
government crushed the
security forces and to stave-off
activities of the group, Mallam Bello Ilyas Damagun, public attention.
the Director of Media Trust Limited and publisher of
the Daily Trust newspaper was, however, arrested The local and global terrorist groups, as the examples
and charged in court for alleged link to the al-Qaeda have shown, serve one another. On the one hand, the
network. Mallam Damagun, prior to his arrest, had local terrorist groups provide manpower for the global
sent 14 young Nigerians to an Unmil Qurah Islamic terrorist groups, who, on the other hand, contribute to
Camp, a terrorist training camp in Mauritania. In the local groups by providing training and other
addition, Damagun was said to have obtained money resources. When national government fights terror
from al-Qaeda in Sudan. He also provided material with terror, local terrorist groups would seek and
assistance such as a ten-seater bus with registration deploy terror as a measure to negotiate with the state.
number Kaduna AN 379 ANC and provided 30 public The more the local groups seek to increase their
address systems for the organization in Maiduguri. In capacities to cope with state terrorism, the more they
2007, Mohammed Yusuf, the late leader of Boko will gravitate towards transnational actors for the
Haram, was arrested and arraigned on a five-count much needed resources such as training, equipment,
charge of illegally receiving money and other etc. However this is viewed, the distilling of local
resources from the Taliban in Niger Republic. terrorist groups into global ones, among other things,
Mohammed Asafa, from Kano, was also charged for underscores a dichotomous and asymmetric view of
receiving funds from al-Qaeda operatives to carry out local groups and their relationship with global groups.
terrorist attacks on Americans in Nigeria. Before his It also signals a global expansion of terror and gradual
arrest, he had recruited and sent 21 fighters to the erosion of spatial constraints, which has now created
Salafis Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) in new spaces for terrorists.
40 | NOV. 2017