Nigeria Government
Arrested & Freed UN
House Bomb Suspect
in 2007

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Nigerian security sources has admitted that it once had
in its custody Babagana Ismail Kwaljima, a.k.a Abu
Summaya, who masterminded the bombing of
the United Nations House in
Abuja. In the word of a top
security official who did not
want his name in print, Abu Summaya and others suspected terrorist
were caught with explosives
in 2007,but were hurriedly
released by an Umaru Yar`dua
apologist. Their release was
aimed at placating Muslim groups, the source added. According to Associated
Press,Top security officials in
the administration of then-
President Umaru Yar'Adua, a
Muslim, released the rounded-
up men shortly after their arrests, with some facing a
few hasty sham trials, the
Nigerian official said. One of those men was
Babagana Ismail Kwaljima,
also known as Abu Summaya,
who was arrested again days
before the Aug. 26 bombing
at the U.N. compound in Abuja that killed at least 23 people,
the Nigerian official said. Kwaljima is accused of helping
mastermind the U.N. bombing.
A second man was also
arrested and police are looking
for a third with "al-Qaida
links" who recently traveled to Somalia, where an al-Qaida-
linked group called al-Shabab
is battling the beleaguered
U.N.-backed government. Kwaljima is being held at a
military base in Nigeria,
according to Nigeria's secret
police. The agency previously
arrested him in October 2007 in
the northern city of Kano during a roundup of suspected
members of al-Qaida in the
Islamic Maghreb operating in
the country, the official who
spoke to AP said. AQIM, as the
group is known, generally operates in Saharan nations
north of Nigeria. However, Nigeria remains
very sensitive to any
suggestion it is a haven for
terrorists, and the information
released at the time of the
arrests was fairly vague. It was not immediately clear if
Nigeria shared information
about the purported anti-U.S.
plots with U.S. officials. The
U.S. embassy had no
immediate comment Thursday. However, in a report on global
terror threats, the State
Department said diplomats
issued a warning to U.S.
citizens in 2007 about possible
attacks on U.S. and Western interests in Nigeria. It also
noted that Nigerian
authorities said they arrested
at least 10 suspected terrorists
in northern Nigeria late that
year with alleged ties to al- Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. Suspected Pakistani members
of al-Qaida were arrested in
October 2007 along with
members of AQIM, the official
said. He did not provide
numbers of people arrested. News reports that emerged in
November 2007 about arrests
in the area also did not specify
numbers, but identified the
men as Nigerians. No
foreigners were mentioned. The official told AP that AQIM
was planning to carry out
terror attacks against targets
in the United States and the
Pakistanis were plotting
terror attacks against U.S. citizens working in Nigeria,
which is divided into a mainly
Christian south and Muslim
north. "They were caught with
explosive devices and other
ammunitions. Some of them
were also caught with large
amount of cash," the Nigerian
official said. Responsibility for the Aug. 26
attack on the U.N., in which 81
people were wounded, was
claimed by a sect known as
Boko Haram, whose name
means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa
language. The sect, which
wants to implement a strict
version of Shariah law in the
nation, operates in the north
and reportedly has links to AQIM and al-Shabab. The car used in the U.N.
bombing was registered in the
same area of Kano state
where the terror suspects had
been arrested only four years
earlier, the official who spoke to the AP said. In 2003, Osama bin Laden
issued an audio tape calling on
Muslims in Nigeria to rise up
against one of the "regimes
who are slaves of America." It
wasn't until four years later that strategic links were made
between AQIM and Boko
Haram, according to Noman
Benotman, a former jihadist
with links to al-Qaida and an
analyst at the London-based Quilliam Foundation.
Meanwhile, ties with the
Somali militant group seem to
have grown stronger. Some 50 al-Shabab members
were arrested in Nigeria
recently for plotting attacks
on western targets, Benotman
said, citing postings made to
jihadist websites. Those arrests were not reported by
Nigerian media or announced
by security agencies. Last month, the commander
for U.S. military operations in
Africa told the AP that Boko
Haram may be trying to
coordinate attacks with al-
Shabab and AQIM Nigeria's military, police and
secretive State Security
Service have been unable to
stop Boko Haram from
waging an increasing bloody
sectarian fight against this oil- rich nation's weak central
government. Other problems for Nigeria's
intelligence agencies came as it
abandoned a U.S.-assisted anti-
terrorism program in late 2007
known as "Focal Point," which
saw the Nigerian government set up units in major cities to
monitor suspected terrorists,
the Nigerian official said. The
units fell apart as agencies
stocked them with friends
who took advantage of trips, leaving the job of tracking
suspects to local police
authorities who knew
nothing about the cases, the
official said. "Many saw the centers as
opportunity for 'their boys'
to go on overseas trips and
make money," the official
saidlinked group called al-Shabab
is battling the beleaguered
U.N.-backed government. Kwaljima is being held at a
military base in Nigeria,
according to Nigeria's secret
police. The agency previously
arrested him in October 2007 in
the northern city of Kano during a roundup of suspected
members of al-Qaida in the
Islamic Maghreb operating in
the country, the official who
spoke to AP said. AQIM, as the
group is known, generally operates in Saharan nations
north of Nigeria. However, Nigeria remains
very sensitive to any
suggestion it is a haven for
terrorists, and the information
released at the time of the
arrests was fairly vague. It was not immediately clear if
Nigeria shared information
about the purported anti-U.S.
plots with U.S. officials. The
U.S. embassy had no
immediate comment Thursday. However, in a report on global
terror threats, the State
Department said diplomats
issued a warning to U.S.
citizens in 2007 about possible
attacks on U.S. and Western interests in Nigeria. It also
noted that Nigerian
authorities said they arrested
at least 10 suspected terrorists
in northern Nigeria late that
year with alleged ties to al- Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. Suspected Pakistani members
of al-Qaida were arrested in
October 2007 along with
members of AQIM, the official
said. He did not provide
numbers of people arrested. News reports that emerged in
November 2007 about arrests
in the area also did not specify
numbers, but identified the
men as Nigerians. No
foreigners were mentioned. The official told AP that AQIM
was planning to carry out
terror attacks against targets
in the United States and the
Pakistanis were plotting
terror attacks against U.S. citizens working in Nigeria,
which is divided into a mainly
Christian south and Muslim
north. "They were caught with
explosive devices and other
ammunitions. Some of them
were also caught with large
amount of cash," the Nigerian
official said. Responsibility for the Aug. 26
attack on the U.N., in which 81
people were wounded, was
claimed by a sect known as
Boko Haram, whose name
means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa
language. The sect, which
wants to implement a strict
version of Shariah law in the
nation, operates in the north
and reportedly has links to AQIM and al-Shabab. The car used in the U.N.
bombing was registered in the
same area of Kano state
where the terror suspects had
been arrested only four years
earlier, the official who spoke to the AP said. In 2003, Osama bin Laden
issued an audio tape calling on
Muslims in Nigeria to rise up
against one of the "regimes
who are slaves of America." It
wasn't until four years later that strategic links were made
between AQIM and Boko
Haram, according to Noman
Benotman, a former jihadist
with links to al-Qaida and an
analyst at the London-based Quilliam Foundation.
Meanwhile, ties with the
Somali militant group seem to
have grown stronger. Some 50 al-Shabab members
were arrested in Nigeria
recently for plotting attacks
on western targets, Benotman
said, citing postings made to
jihadist websites. Those arrests were not reported by
Nigerian media or announced
by security agencies. Last month, the commander
for U.S. military operations in
Africa told the AP that Boko
Haram may be trying to
coordinate attacks with al-
Shabab and AQIM Nigeria's military, police and
secretive State Security
Service have been unable to
stop Boko Haram from
waging an increasing bloody
sectarian fight against this oil- rich nation's weak central
government. Other problems for Nigeria's
intelligence agencies came as it
abandoned a U.S.-assisted anti-
terrorism program in late 2007
known as "Focal Point," which
saw the Nigerian government set up units in major cities to
monitor suspected terrorists,
the Nigerian official said. The
units fell apart as agencies
stocked them with friends
who took advantage of trips, leaving the job of tracking
suspects to local police
authorities who knew
nothing about the cases, the
official said. "Many saw the centers as
opportunity for 'their boys'
to go on overseas trips and
make money," the official
said