ADVERTISEMENT

Nigeria Plans to Use Identity Checks in Battle Against Militants

Nigeria Plans to Use Identity Checks in Battle Against Militants

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s army said it will carry out strict identification checks on people passing through three of the country’s northern states as it seeks to clamp down on Islamist militants in the area.

The checks are needed because criminals are hiding among civilians in some of the towns in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, the army said in statement on Twitter on Sunday. National identification cards, voter registration cards, driving licenses and passports are all acceptable forms of ID.

“Members of the public are enjoined to always carry valid means of identification when moving or passing through the states,” the army said. “Anyone not positively identified will attract further scrutiny and comprehensive investigation to determine his or her activities with the insurgents or otherwise.”

“Operation Positive Identification,” through which the military will identify and arrest suspected militants, is aimed at ending the insurgency in the northeast. Islamist militant group Boko Haram has been attacking the region for over a decade, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing many more.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tope Alake in Lagos at talake@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, James Amott, Charles Daly

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.