From Laolu Akande, New York

A REPORT by the United States (U.S.) government has listed Nigeria as a recruiting ground for terrorist organisations.

The report added that not only are there individuals with suspected ties to terrorists groups around the world in Nigeria, such activities as recruitment of terrorists are common trends in the country.

Such terrorist groups which the Americans fear may be in operation in Nigeria include the al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. The former has been accused by the U.S. government of masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

According to its yearly report titled Country Reports on Terrorism," the U.S. said: "While the Nigerian government did not support international terrorism or terrorists, there were some individuals and private groups in the country with ties to probable terrorist elements in Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, and Libya. Members of terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Salafish Group for Preaching and Combat (AQIM/GSPC) have operated and recruited in Nigeria."

American law requires the Secretary of State to provide the U.S. Congress, especially by April 30, with a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation for terrorism activities.

United States acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian government, especially leading counter-terrorism role in West Africa, including the observation that "Nigerian security services were co-operative when asked to investigate potential terrorist threats to U.S. interests."

The report noted that the Federal Government had initiated legislative and regulatory steps to shore up its anti-money laundering regime to fight terrorism.

By and large, however, the US stated that Nigeria's security agencies "remained reactive" on the issue.

The report said: " Nigerian intelligence and security services worked hard, however, to improve intelligence sharing on counter-terrorism issues, and the Nigerian military worked to establish units with counter-terrorism capability."

The report released on Monday equally commended Nigeria for taking the lead in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), especially for sponsoring joint intelligence and security conferences on counter-terrorism.

In the area of the law, the report said: "While Nigeria's current criminal law did not contain specific counter-terrorism provisions, the Penal Code proscribed acts of violence that included terrorism." It commended the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approving a draft counter-terrorism bill and sent same to the National Assembly for consideration.

Under the new legislation, anyone convicted of a terrorist offence could be sentenced to as much as 35 years in prison, the report recalled, noting however that the "National Assembly had not acted on the bill by year's end."

On the down side, the report said Nigeria had no "special examining magistrate with specific powers in the counter-terrorism area." And even though "most criminals were photographed and fingerprinted by security elements, but DNA samples were not taken due to resource constraints and lack of scientific infrastructure."

The report covers developments in countries in which acts of terrorism occurred, nations that are sponsors of terrorism, and those determined by the Secretary of State to be of particular interest in the global war on terror. As provided in the legislation, the report reviews major developments in bilateral and multilateral counter-terrorism co-operation.

It also provides information on terrorist groups responsible for the death, kidnapping, or injury of Americans, any umbrella groups to which they might belong, groups financed by state sponsors of terrorism, reports on all terrorist organisations on the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) list, and other terrorist groups determined by the Secretary of State to be relevant to the report.

In Africa, the report noted that the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), an organisation founded by African heads of state, condemned terrorism and called on African nations to take concrete measures to combat it.

But a small number of al-Qaeda (AQ) operatives in East Africa, particularly Somalia, continued to pose the most serious threat to American and allied interests in the region.

The report further said that "although elements were severely disrupted at year's end, AQ continued to operate in Somalia and elsewhere in East Africa. Somalia remains a concern, as the country's unsecured borders and continued political instability provide opportunities for terrorist transit and/or organisation. AQ remains likely to keep making common cause with Somali extremists in an attempt to disrupt international peacemaking efforts in Somalia."

Besides, the document said "there were a few significant international terrorist incidents in Africa, but civil conflict and ethnic violence continued in a number of countries. AQ-affiliated terrorist groups were present and operated in Northwest Africa. These groups conducted small-scale attacks on host governments and U.S. interests, raised funds, recruited, and conducted other support activities across the Trans-Sahara."

The report went on: "Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) merged with al-Qaeda in September and changed its name to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). (AQIM/GSPC) continued to operate in the Sahel region, crossing difficult-to-patrol borders between Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Algeria, and Chad to recruit extremists within the region for training and terrorist operations in the Trans-Sahara and, possibly, for operations outside the region. Its new alliance with al-Qaeda potentially has given it access to more resources and training."

In West Africa, the Hezbollah is said to be engaged in fundraising activities but did not engage in any terrorist attacks within the region. But the report added that "many African governments improved their co-operation and strengthened their efforts in the war on terror. Both the AU and African regional organisations continued initiatives to improve counter-terrorism co-operation and information sharing," it stated.

Guardian Newspapers Limited 02/05/2007