by Azeez Adeniyi

The Federal Government on Monday said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has started recruitment, stating that parents and guardians should monitor activities of their children.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said this in a statement in Abuja.

Mohammed cited the recent recruitment of 27 medical students of the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Sudan as a new strategy of the terrorist group.

He said the group was now targeting vulnerable persons by using financial inducements to lure them.

While quoting a report received by the Nigerian Intelligence Community, he said “22 of the 27 students, who travelled to Syria to join ISIS, are Britons.”

He said, “According to the report, the students were recruited by one Mohammed Fakhri Al-khabbas, a former UMST student from Middlesborough, United Kingdom.

“Many of the students are children of reputable doctors in the UK. Their Social Media accounts also revealed them as praising Jihadists and championing ISIS’ cause.”

He urged Nigerians who have children in foreign institutions to keep an eye on them.