Niger State on alert against terror attacks

Nigerian security forces in Niger State have placed its officers on red alert to prevent terrorist attack and ensure a violencefree Christmas. Commander of 31 Artillery Brigade, Moshood Jimoh, disclosed this to reporters on Saturday in Minna, the state capital, after a security meeting.

He said effective security operational order had been issued to security agencies to ensure peaceful coexistence before, during and after Christmas festivities in Niger.

According to him, adequate security personnel had been deployed to identify areas of crime to pave the way for arrests and prosecutions.

Christmas celebrations of 2010 and 2011 witnessed deadly bomb attacks on Christian worship centers in Jos, the Plateau state capital and other places.

The Niger State had witnessed a spate of bombings in the past years, including the Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa's Catholic Church, Madalla, which killed at least 37 people in 2011.

The attack was masterminded by a self-confessed member of the Boko Haram group.

The Boko Haram has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 2.6 million people since its emergence in 2009 in northeast Nigeria.