The Federal Government has initiated extraction proceedings against a Nigerian, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi, suspected to be member of the terrorist organisation, al-Qaeda. ===>> /p3MCGX-22q



http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/fg-initiates-extradition-process-against-alleged-al-qaeda-kingpin/

The ram is probably from Osun

http://www.hopefornigeriaonline.com/
By Tobi Soniyi

The Federal Government has initiated extraction proceedings against a Nigerian, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi, suspected to be member of the terrorist organisation, al-Qaeda.

It emerged also Friday that barring the impatience of operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), the owner of House 3, Gaya Road, in Kano, where an arms and ammunition cache were recovered recently, Abdul-Hassan Thahil, may have been arrested.

The federal government applied to a Federal High Court in Abuja for the extradition of Babafemi, 32, also described as “Abdullah” and “Ayatollah Mustapher” to the United States, where he is wanted for his alleged involvement in terrorism-related activities.

In an application for extradition filed before the court, counsel to the government exhibited a four-count charge marked:13CR-109-JG, filed against him before the United States District Court of the Eastern District of New York and a bench warrant issued for his arrest by a US magistrate.

He is charged with “conspiracy to provide support to a foreign terrorist organisation, provision and attempted provision of material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, unlawful use of firearms and conspiracy to unlawfully use firearms.”

The offences, on conviction, attract a minimum sentence of 10 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

Babafemi, who was based in the US, fled to Nigeria when he suspected that he was to be arrested by men of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But he was arrested in Nigerian and is being held by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Documents filed by the federal government before the Abuja court revealed that the US authorities are of the view that Babafemi belongs to the “al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),” an affiliate of al-Qaeda.

He allegedly travelled to Yemen between January 2010 and August 2011 to train with the group and relate with its senior members including the now deceased Anwar al-Aulaqi and Samir Khan.

Babafemi was said to have admitted, upon interrogation that he was paid about $8,600 by the AQAP to return to Nigeria and recruit some English-speaking individuals to work in AQAP’s English language media organisation.

The media organisation is believed to serve as the organisation’s medium of radicalising English speakers, who it recruits to commit terrorist attacks on its behalf.

The group had claimed responsibility for series of terrorist activities, including the December 25, 2009 bombing attempt in the US by a Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The extradition application could not be heard when he was taken to court yesterday because it was served late on Babafemi’s lawyer, S. O. Yahaya.

State’s lawyer and head of the Federal Ministry of Justice’s Central Authority Unit, Muslim Hassan, who said court processes were served on Babafemi a day before his appearance in court, however agreed to Yahaya’s request for more time to file his counter processes.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed has fixed hearing of the extradition application for August 28.

Roda, while testifying Friday as the first defence witness, told the court that he had advised the SSS operatives who arrested him to play it cool and be patient as the owner of the house – 3 Gaya Road – was away, but would be back in two weeks.

Thahil is currently declared as being “at large” in the charge filed against three of his alleged accomplices, now standing trial before the Federal High Court, Abuja for terrorism related offences.

The three – Mustapha Fawaz (49), Abdallah Thahini (48) and Talal Ahmad Roda (51) -all Lebanes – are charged with their companies – Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Amusement Park Resort. Roda, who claimed he had lived in the house as a squatter for 10 years, told the court that had the security operatives heeded his advice the owner of the house, Thahil, would have been arrested.

Roda, who was arrested in the house by SSS operatives in May this year, was led in evidence by defence lawyer, Ahmed Raji, SAN.

He said: “I told DSS6 (an operative of the Department of State Services) that this matter should be kept silent, because of national security. So that he can investigate very well.

“I told him that the owner of the house is coming. And that he should not inform the media.

“I told Mr. Osagie (an official of the DSS and a lawyer involved in the prosecution) that they will not see Mr. Abdul-Hassan anymore the moment they took us before the media and blew the whole thing open,” Roda said.

He told the court this piece of information was included in a statement he made to his interrogators, but which was not tendered in court.

Roda, who said he was born in the country and had been around for about 30 years, admitted being aware some arms and ammunition were kept in the Kano house.

He said the owner of the house told him he had licence to import arms and ammunition.

He however said the arms exhibited and tendered in court were not the same he had seen in the house.

Roda told the court that the owner of the house once told him of a plot to attack the Saudi Arabian embassy in Nigeria.

He said he was also told the plot was not successful.

The witness said he once assisted in the movement of the arms from where they were earlier kept on Sultan Road, Kano to 3 Gaya Road, where they were discovered by security agents.

He said although he assisted in the relocation and the purchase of coolers in which they were later stored, he was oblivious of what the items were because they were held in wooden containers.

Roda said he only knew about some Ak-47 guns and land mines.

Under cross examination, Roda said he could not inform security agencies about the arms because he was told by the house owner that he (house owner) had licence that covered the arms.

He also said he failed to report to security agents because he was not allowed to do so and that he was afraid for his life.

“I am not allowed to mention anything to anybody. The reason why I did not report to the police or other security agencies was also because I was told they have license and that I should not tell anyone,” he said.

Roda said the fear about the possible repercussion partly informed why he left the country in 2008 but returned in 2010.

At the conclusion of his evidence, and upon an application by Raji, the court ordered that the three accused persons be moved from their current detention place at the DSS custody to Kuje prison, Abuja.

Raji hinged his application on the ground that his clients have alleged that they were no longer comfortable in the custody of the DSS.

Raji told the trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola that his clients had made the request based on the fact that they were afraid to stay in the DSS custody to give evidence in defence of their case.

He said:“The 1st and 2nd accused persons are afraid to stay in the DSS custody anymore. They should be transferred to a neutral place so that they can come to court with a free mind and express themselves in the evidence they shall give before this court.”

Further hearing has been fixed for Monday.