- Title: NIGERIA: Nigeria arrests Iran-linked cell targeting US, Israel
- Date: 21st February 2013
- Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (FEBRUARY 20, 2013) (REUTERS) STATE SECURITY SERVICE SPOKESPERSON MARYLYN OGAR ARRIVING VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) STATE SECURITY SERVICE SPOKESPERSON, MARYLYN OGAR, SAYING: "As a result of painstaking investigations which lasted for six months this service arrested one Abdullahi Mustapha Berende an indigene of Ilorin Kwara state on 17 December 2012 for his active involvement in espionage and terrorist activities. Berende, a 50-year-old local leader of the local Shi'ite sect in Ilorin was observed to have made several suspicious trips to and from Iran where he interacted with some Iranian elements known to operate a high profile international terrorist network." VARIOUS OF ABDULLAHI MUSTAPHA BERENDE (WHITE SHIRT) ON PARADE (SOUNDBITE) (English) STATE SECURITY SERVICE SPOKESPERSON, MARYLYN OGAR, SAYING: "That his Iranian sponsors requested that he identifies and gathers intelligence on public places and prominent hotels frequented by Americans and Israelis to facilitate attacks. He was also to provide specific details on the following targets: organisations like USAID, MARKS, Sim international shipping company, AA consulting, peace corps, and the Jewish cultural centre Chabad in Lagos." VARIOUS OF REPORTERS SEATED LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABDULLAHI MUSTAPHA BERENDE, SAYING (AUDIO AS INCOMING): "I was planning having a business headquartered in Lagos with an outlet in Ilorin Kwara state, he (Berende's Iranian counterpart) offered to help, he offered to assist. Having made a mistake, a big mistake of exposing everything of me to him, he was able to understand my weakness he capitalised on it and then since that moment so he has been playing games with me and it was very, very late before I realised that this man was playing games with me." VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS
- Embargoed: 8th March 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Crime,International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABVBCTOR29LLYPEM292ILXUFE2
- Story Text: Nigeria's secret service says it has arrested a "terrorist cell" who were planning to attack U.S. and Israeli targets.
Nigeria's secret service says it has arrested a "terrorist cell" trained in Iran who planned to attack U.S. and Israeli targets in Africa's most populous nation.
The State Security Service (SSS) arrested Abdullahi Mustapha Berende and two other Nigerians in December after Berende made several suspicious trips to Iran where he interacted with Iranians in a "high profile terrorist network".
"As a result of painstaking investigations which lasted for six months this service arrested one Abdullahi Mustapha Berende an indigene of Ilorin Kwara state on 17 December 2012 for his active involvement in espionage and terrorist activities. Berende, a 50-year-old local leader of the local Shi'ite sect in Ilorin was observed to have made several suspicious trips to and from Iran where he interacted with some Iranian elements known to operate a high profile international terrorist network, " said SSS spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar in a statement on Wednesday (February 20).
Iran has yet to respond to the allegations.
Berende, who will now be charged in court, admitted spying for Iranian counterparts to reporters on Wednesday (February 21) but insisted they were "playing games" with him.
"I was planning having a business headquartered in Lagos with an outlet in Ilorin Kwara state, he (Berende's Iranian counterpart) offered to help, he offered to assist. Having made a mistake, a big mistake of exposing everything of me to him, he was able to understand my weakness he capitalised on it and then since that moment so he has been playing games with me and it was very, very late before I realised that this man was playing games with me," Berende said.
Berende first travelled to Iran in 2006 where he studied at an Islamic university, before returning in 2011 for weapons and explosives training, the SSS said.
Ogar said Berende sent his Iranian partners photos of the Israeli cultural centre in Lagos and told them that they should attack former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida and Islamic spiritual leader the Sultan of Sokoto to "unsettle the West".
This is not the first diplomatic incident between Nigeria and Iran. An Iranian diplomat was arrested in 2004 on suspicion of spying on the Israeli embassy in Nigeria's capital Abuja, Israeli sources said. Iran denied any arrest.
In 2010, authorities at a Lagos port found a hidden shipment of artillery rockets, rifle rounds and other weapons from Iran. The shipment was supposedly bound for Gambia. A Nigerian and an Iranian face criminal charges over the shipment.
Nigeria's population of 160 million is split roughly equally between a mostly Muslim north and a largely Christian south.
Islamist groups in the north have become the biggest threat to stability in Africa's top oil producer. Western governments are increasingly concerned they are linking up with extremists outside Nigeria, including al Qaeda's north African wing. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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