Nigerian police have been placed on “red alert” after the US killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday on the orders of President Donald Trump. He spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East and was regarded as a terrorist by the US. The police tweeted on Sunday:

DEATH OF IRANIAN GENERAL: IGP PLACES POLICEMEN ON RED ALERT NATIONWIDE

The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu has placed Police Commands and Formations nationwide on red alert. — Nigeria Police Force (@PoliceNG) January 5, 2020

The police do not give reasons for the red alert, but the privately-owned Punch newspaper suggests that it comes amid fears that a pro-Iranian Shia group might stage protests. Phillip Smyth, who is based at The Washington Institute and studies Shia Islamist militarism, said Iran might decide to hit the US in Africa. "If Iran ever needed to return to the old school forms of international terrorism it's highly likely that they would look for low hanging fruit, where there are softer easier targets and they could also very very easily attack their enemies in areas that might not have the same levels of security," he told BBC Newsday.