Jonathan Fires Adviser On Counterterrorism

This Day

5 September 2011

Jonathan Fires Adviser On Counterterrorism

Abuja — President Goodluck Jonathan has quietly fired his Coordinator on Counterterrorism, Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim, following the spate of bombings in the country.

In what an insider called "one of the first steps in a major overhaul of the security architecture", the president has appointed the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Sarkin Yakin Bello, as his new adviser to counter the rising wave of bombings in the country.

In another counterterrorism measure, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched an operation against illegal aliens in the country, leading to the deportation of nationals of six countries, including Somalia, for "security reasons".

Maj. Gen. Bello was the Commander of the Joint Task Force (Operation Restore Hope) in the Niger Delta in the heyday of militancy.