President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has suggested that the possibility of terrorist agents infiltrating Nigeria’s security agencies cannot be ruled out, citing previous arrests of security personnel linked to terrorism.
Bwala made the remarks during The Link Up Podcast, a panel discussion hosted by EchoRoom and published on Friday, while responding to a question on whether the Nigerian military had been infiltrated by terrorist elements.
According to the presidential aide, although there is no basis to conclude that the security agencies are broadly compromised, isolated cases involving personnel with alleged terrorist links have been recorded in the past.
“You cannot rule out the facts that they may have one or two agents in the army, anywhere else,” Bwala said.
He added that both police officers and soldiers had previously been arrested over their alleged involvement in terrorist-related activities.
“Our police have always been arrested, and soldiers arrested involved in this kind of thing,” he stated.
Bwala stressed that such incidents are not unique to Nigeria, noting that security breaches can occur in any country. He referenced former United States intelligence contractor Edward Snowden as an example of how individuals within security structures can compromise national security.
“This will happen anywhere in the world. Snowden was a contractor to the US national security. These are elements that can happen, and why I didn’t want to talk much on that is because there are measures we’re taking and we don’t want people to know,” he said.
His comments come amid ongoing efforts by the Federal Government and security agencies to tackle terrorism, banditry and other forms of insecurity across the country.
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