President Muhammadu Buhari has suspended the comptroller general of Nigeria Immigration Service, David Parradang, in a move that sources in the presidency tell The Trent is connected with the embarrassing issuance of a Nigerian visa to an ISIS terrorist from Lebanon.
Parradang was asked to immediately proceed on suspension, Friday, August 21, 2015 while the service’s deputy comptroller general, Martin Abeshi, takes over, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Ahmad al-Assir, a wanted terrorist in Lebanon with links to Islamist terrorist group, ISIS was granted a visa to come to Nigeria on a fake Palestinian passport. The story of Sheikh Assir’s arrest in Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, early Saturday, August 15, 2015 was first reported in Nigerian media by The Trent.
According to reports, Buhari has under international pressure over the scandal which has been described as a “huge embarrassment” by an official of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Pressure from the United States President, Barack Obama and other world leaders “forced” Buhari to finally act on the arrest of Assir.
The Trent raised serious questions for the Nigerian government because of the twin issues of Assir’s fugitive status and his links with ISIS.
How would a radical Muslim cleric, a fugitive linked to ISIS be granted a Nigerian visa on a fake Palestinian passport? What was Assir’s mission in Nigeria? Who are his contacts in Nigeria? Who was he communicating with in Nigeria? Where was he planning to stay in Nigeria? Most importantly, who granted his visa and based on what recommendations?
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The incursion of ISIS into a Boko Haram ravaged Nigeria gives Nigerian authorities more cause to worry as Boko Haram attacks continue to increase since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office on May 29, 2015.
In March 2015, Richard Grenell, a former spokesman for four United States Ambassadors to the United Nations, raised an alarm about the dangers of a Buhari presidency for Nigeria and the whole of Africa.
In an article titled “Nigeria on the brink” which was published in the Washington Times, a US based publication, Grenell observed that the former military Head of State was working tirelessly to introduce the Sharia law across the country, which according to him would further pose a major challenge to the fight against terrorism in Nigeria and Africa in its entirety.
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According to Grenell, “Western foreign policy observers pre-occupied with the rise of ISIS in the Middle East should wake up to the reality unfolding in Nigeria. Opposition candidate General Buhari wants Sharia law throughout Nigeria. In fact, he wants it everywhere.
“Is this an indication that Buhari supports violence because the end goal of the terrorist attacks throughout Nigeria and Africa is an Islamic state? It is a legitimate question that should be asked by leaders of the Obama administration.
“Boko Haram has pledged its allegiance and support to ISIS. The Northern Nigerian based Islamic terrorist group wants Sharia law throughout the country and beyond. They are also actively terrorising Chad, Niger and Cameroon with their goal of an Islamic state.
“Buhari has also spoken sympathetically about members of the terrorist group Boko Haram, has cautioned against a rush to judgment on its members and has personally been selected by the terrorist group to lead its negotiations with the Government of Nigeria.
“Buhari’s election as Nigeria’s head of state would be a disaster for Africa. It would also signal trouble for the West’s fight against ISIS and terrorism throughout the Middle East.”
Additional reports by Yemi Adebowale
