ISLAMIC STATE | ISIS Fugitive Al-Assir Arrested With Valid Nigerian Visa

By Yemi Adebowale

A radical Muslim cleric, Ahmad Al-Assir has been arrested by Lebanese authorities as he attempted to leave Lebanon to Nigeria via Cairo.

Assir was apprehended while attempting to travel with a fake Palestinian passport and a valid Nigerian visa at the Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport early Saturday, August 15, 2015 in Lebanon, according to a statement released by General Security, Lebanon’s security directorate.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that Assir, who was traveling with another man, was holding a fake passport in the name of Rami Abdul Rahman Taleb, while his companion was holding a passport in the name of Khaled Sidani. The driver who drove Assir to the airport in a Mercedes Benz was later arrested.

Alexander Mukhtar Dan’Iyan, the editor-in-chief of the 15Past8 Media Group based in New York City, who tweets via @MrAyeDee on Twitter, says that Assir is the ”unofficial de-facto Emir of ISIS in Lebanon”.

Assir’s fugitive status and his links with ISIS has provoked serious questions for the Nigerian government. 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?

New face of IS linked fugitive cleric, Ahmad al-Assir who was en route Nigeria via Cairo. pic.twitter.com/eT45QGg5es

— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) August 16, 2015

As a matter of utmost urgency, Nigeria’s NIA and DSS needs to look into who issued Ahmad al-Assir a visa to enter Nigeria and why.

— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) August 16, 2015

Ahmed al-Assir is the unofficial defacto IS Emir for Lebanon. Only reason he’s unofficial is because Bay’ah has not been publicly accepted.

— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) August 16, 2015

An IS Emir attempting to enter Nigeria with a fake passport & under a disguised physical identity has far reaching security implications.

— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) August 16, 2015

Mr Al Assir became one of the most wanted men in Lebanon after his militia went to battle with the Lebanese army in the port city of Sidon in 2013, resulting in the deaths of 18 soldiers and dozens of Mr Al Assir’s gunmen.


A composite picture of Ahmad al-Assir, with the image on the right showing his most recent appearance. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/Daily Star Lebanon)

When the war in Syria began emboldening extremist Sunnis in Lebanon and inflaming sectarian tensions here, Mr Al Assir swiftly rose from obscurity to become a powerful voice. From his modest Bilal Bin Rabah mosque in the southern city of Sidon, he railed against Hizbollah and later the Lebanese state, accusing them of subjugating Lebanon’s Sunni community.

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 it’s entirety.

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 judgement 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.”

ISLAMIC STATE | ISIS Fugitive Al-Assir Arrested With Valid Nigerian Visa | Breaking Times
http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/islamic-state-isis-fugitive-al-assir-arrested-with-valid-nigerian-visa/

ISIS are now trooping to Nigeria where Buhari welcomes them with open arms.

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K

This is serious.

It 2 sey northerners stood against BH..