SSS Aborts Al-Qaeda Attacks in Nigeria
>From Ike Abonyi in Abuja, 11.12.2007 http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=94969 Security reports at the weekend indicate that Nigeria may have been saved the horror of major terrorist attacks following the arrest of suspected terrorists believed to have links to the dreaded Al-Qaeda network. THISDAY gathered last night that operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) who had been on the trail of some religious militants in Northern part of the country have aborted the intended attacks. The group, according to the security source, was responsible for the recent attacks on police stations and some neighbourhoods in parts of the country. The suspects were arrested in Kano, Kaduna and Yobe states with explosive-making devices, including bags of fertiliser and some quantities of firearms. Sources at the SSS attributed the success in the operation that led to the arrest of the suspects to the recent changes in the service, especially the re-organisation and strengthening of the Anti-Terrorism Department and the prioritisation of the operational focus of the intelligence body. As at last night, it was not clear where and how the militants wanted to attack but a source said some Western interests in the country might have been their target. Operatives are also looking into the possibility of the group having backers from religious groups in the country. THISDAY gathered that since the change in leadership of the country as well as the SSS, some changes have been aimed at repositioning the service for "more responsiveness and more professionalism". Efforts to get more information on the operation regarding the names and photographs of the arrested religious militants last night proved abortive. Spokesman of SSS, Mr. Ado Muazu, confirmed the arrest and said suspects were in custody in Abuja. The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III, is said to be in the US currently discussing the issue of terrorism on the invitation of the American government. Since the terrorism war became full blown, Nigeria has not recorded any case in spite of continuous warning from European Union and the United States of America (USA) to their citizens against possible attacks by the religious militants. Just before this year's commemoration of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US by the Al-Qaeda Network, the American Consulate in Lagos had raised alarm over a threat on Western and US interests in Nigeria. In June 2005, a similar warning had led to the closure of embassies in Lagos and Abuja for some days, a move which a US military spokesperson, Major Holly Silkman, speaking from Dakar, Senegal, had confirmed thus: "There was some kind of threat made and it was through telephone call." This year, the US mission said it had received information that American and other Western interests in the country were at risk. It did not give the name of any group behind the plot. A press statement issued then by the Consulate said potential targets included diplomatic buildings and businesses in Abuja and Lagos. Also, last month, SSS operatives arrested two men in Kano suspected to be members of Al-Qaeda. The men whose names were given as Abubakar Haruna and Isah A. were said to be in their twenties. They were picked up in Kano following weeks of intense intelligence gathering linking them with visits to several countries suspected to have contacts with known terrorist networks, particularly, Algeria. (F)AIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. "Fair Use" legally eliminates the need to obtain permission or pay royalties for the use of previously copyrighted materials if the purposes of display include "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." Section 107 establishes four criteria for determining whether the use of a work in any particular case qualifies as a "fair use". A work used does not necessarily have to satisfy all four criteria to qualify as an instance of "fair use". Rather, "fair use" is determined by the overall extent to which the cited work does or does not substantially satisfy the criteria in their totality. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. COPYING AND DISSEMINATION IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
