Maitatsine‎ Metamorphosed to Boko Horam Terrorists – NSA

• Says militancy calls to question the capacity of the State to protect its citizens

Adedayo‎ Akinwale in Abuja

The National Security ‎Adviser (NSA), Maj.Gen Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd), on Monday revealed that the Maitatsine‎ insurgents that ravaged the northern part of the country in the 1980s and led to the death of about 5,000 people metamorphosed into the present Boko Haram insurgents.

The NSA also said that the problem of militancy ‎in the Niger Delta region has called into question the capacity of the government to protect its citizens.

Monguno, who was represented by the Director of External Services, Mr. Abba Ibrahim, disclosed this in Abuja at the 4th Eminent Persons and Expert Group Meeting (EEGM) 2016, with the theme: “Dialogue on Current Security Challenges in Nigeria: Towards an All-Inclusive National Strategy.”

It was organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Kuru, near Jos.

According to him, “The most significant security challenge to our individual and national peace and security is the menace of the Boko Haram sect. Though it started as a suppressed religious group called Maitastine‎ in the 80s, it clearly metamorphosed to the terrorist sect called Boko Haram in 2009.”