While Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says no-one will be blacklisted for entry into T&T, she remains adamant that security forces will do what is necessary to ensure public safety. The Prime Minister made the declaration on Tuesday night at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA), San Fernando, as she addressed reporters on concerns raised over a group of Nigerians with alleged terrorist links who arrived in T&T in 2013.
Commenting on the flagging of several Nigerian students as potential threats then, Persad-Bissessar, head of the National Security Council, admitted she was aware of a letter sent to then National Security Minister Jack Warner in 2013 advising him of the security threat the group of 66 posed. She said at that point the Nigerians, who were allegedly involved in military action against the Nigerian government, were placed under constant monitoring.
“Minister Griffith was then our adviser with respect to National Security Council (NSC) matters. “We kept the police on board... intelligence sources. Nothing really extraordinary happened the, so they were under constant monitoring and we continue to do the same,” she said after attending the Cedar Grove Private School’s annual Christmas concert.
Persad-Bissessar assured T&T was not closing its borders to immigrants from Nigeria or other African countries as has been suggested in the wake of the recent deportation of a group of Ghanaians. However, she said monitoring would be constantly conducted.
“We cannot blacklist every person because of the transgressions of a few. We will have to do what we have to do to ensure safety and security,” she said, adding that Government “will do all we can to ensure the safety and security of our citizens.”
Threat over
Commenting on media reports of public fear that the suspected Nigerian militants may still be in the country, the PM said: “It appears to be persons who were here for one year, so that one year has expired.” She assured citizens had no reason to be fearful, especially since the situation was being dealt with by the National Security Ministry. “I do know that there are some other students who have come and therefore we continue to monitor those matters to ensure safety and security,” she said.
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In a 2013 letter to then National Security Minister Jack Warner, Special Branch had warned of 66 Nigerian rebels residing as students in T&T. The letter, which was highlighted in the media earlier this week, suggested that the Nigerians were involved in military attacks against the Nigerian government and had stayed close to one year in T&T as tourism students.
The Nigerians were former combatants involved in military attacks against Nigerian state oil installations in the Niger Delta region. That para-military action forced the shutdown of that country's oil production. The suspected militants reportedly entered T&T under a government-to- government arrangement for training at the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute in partnership with the National Energy Skills Centre.
However, the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute claimed the allegation was untrue. The Head of the Special Branch had advised Warner then that the suspected rebels be sent back to their country since they posed a serious security threat.
