A new terrorist group has sprang up in Nigeria, the country’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said on Friday.

He said that a cell of a Boko Haram affiliate, called the Muslim Brotherhood, has been discovered in Kogi State, acquiring bomb-making chemicals and high-calibre weapons to perpetrate “acts of terror”, including attacks on banks, arms depots and prisons in the country.

A Channels TV report quoted Alhaji Mohammed as saying in a statement that intelligence monitoring showed that the cell was making frantic efforts to advance its IED-making capability through the acquisition of chemicals used for producing IEDs and aluminum powder, a fuel source for amplifying explosions.

“Further intelligence monitoring has revealed that members of the Muslim Brotherhood are planning to forcefully free their members who are in detention in Kogi, Abuja and Kaduna, including one Bilyaminu, an IED expert for the group who is now at Kuje Prison,” the minister said.

He appealed to Nigerians to be vigilant and to report any suspicious persons or movements to the appropriate authorities.

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