By Tobi Soniyi


A former officer of the State Security Service (SSS), Bukar Tarha, Tuesday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that Mallam Mohammed Suleiman Ashafa standing trial for allegedly being a member of Al-Qaeda group admitted his involvement in national and international acts of terrorism.

Tarha, who retired from the SSS into private practice in 2008, told the court that the Nigerian suspected Islamic fundamentalist had admitted, during investigation that he was working for the Resident Chief of Al-Qaeda in West Africa based in Kano, Mallam Adnan Ibrahim.

He said that the suspect also admitted to taking some Nigerians for terrorism training in the Sahel Region.

Ashafa, it would be recalled was also accused of having links with the Boko Haram Islamic group in Nigeria.
The witness told the court that Ashafa was under his custody between 2005 and 2006 when he was head of the anti-terrorism department of the SSS.
He said the accused person was handed over to the Nigerian government by the Pakistani government through the National Intelligent Agency (NIA).

He said there was a forwarding letter with a brief that Ashafa was intercepted at the Pakistani Airport in 2004 and subsequent search and investigation by the Pakistani authorities revealed that he was a member of the Al-Qaeda and that he was sent to Pakistan by the Resident Chief of Al-Qaeda in West Africa, Mallam Adnan Ibrahim.

According to the witness, the accused person was intercepted with Compact Discs on his way back to Nigeria containing coded messages for the West African Chief of the Al-Qaeda.

He said: “Four months after I took over the schedules of the Head of the anti-terrorism department, other suspects were also intercepted and handed over to the Nigerian government by the Libyan government.

“Subsequent interrogation of the suspects revealed that it was Ashafa who took them for terrorism training in the Sahel Region.”

The witness said he also interrogated Adnan Ibrahim in 2006 after he was intercepted by the Libyan authorities and that Ibrahim confirmed to him that he sent Ashafa to Pakistan with another Nigerian terrorist, by name, Yusuf Ahamed.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ashafa-admitted-al-qaeda-link-ex-sss-boss-tells-court/112956/

So, what progress have they made with all this?