http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201109062211993

Tuesday, 6 Sep 2011   

A United States Government cable released by Wikileaks has exposed a deal that helped terrorism suspects of Northern origin to escape trial and prison after arrest.

The cable with reference id: #08ABUJA538 was sent to the US State Department by a former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Robin Rene Sanders, on March 20, 2008.

The cable reveals that the State Security Service and the Northern traditional system reached an understanding for the secretive release and non-trial of terrorism suspects from the region. The deal provided that terrorism suspects from the region would be released to a carefully selected group of traditional rulers and Imams shortly after their arrest.

Our correspondent reports that nearly all of the terrorism suspects arrested in the North belong to the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

Sanders wrote that that the deal was part of a SSS program called “Perception Management,” which aimed to reform terrorism suspects and promote the notion that religious extremists in the region had no foreign affiliations. Among other conditions, terrorism suspects who benefitted from the programme agreed to submit to routine monitoring by the SSS, report regularly to the SSS and abandon extremism.

The cable says the SSS programme was “aimed at de-radicalising and reforming Muslims, who have espoused or otherwise participated in extremist-precipitate-terrorist activities. Under this plan, individuals are released from police or SSS custody and entrusted to “sureties,” most of whom are imams or respected traditional leaders in the North.

“In late January, the Sultan of Sokoto (Nigeria’s preeminent traditional ruler and communal leader of Nigeria’s 70 million Muslims) told PolOff (political officer) (that) the Sultanate in concert with the 13 emirates of the North is “quietly” working to leverage influence on the region’s Islamic leadership to combat rising extremism and radicalisation of Muslim youth.

“A member of the Sultan’s inner circle told PolOff the SSS Director (General) reportedly gave the Sultan his assurance that the SSS would not legally pursue the suspects if the North agreed to take custody of them and “reform their ways.”

The cable says that in some cases suspects were released despite been caught with explosives, arms and ammunition, or linked to the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. It says 12 suspects arrested and detained by the SSS in October 2007 for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks were released at different times in January and February 2008. Another US government cable says some of the suspects were later implicated in bombings and attacks claimed by Boko Haram.

The cable says despite what an SSS agent described to an American official as “overwhelming” and “undeniable” evidence, at least one suspect arraigned in court was cleverly left off by the SSS who did not provide evidence that could nail him.

The SSS, according to the former US ambassador, claimed the suspect’s release was facilitated because his health had failed. But Sanders countered that the suspect “did not appear to PolOff in ill health, but rather in good spirits and fully coherent.” The cable claims that the SSS went to a great length to ensure that terrorism suspects from the North did not end up in jail. Some of the desperate actions taken by the SSS included persuading Imams to take the suspects under their wings.

The cable says, “The PolOff (political officer) spoke January 21, and again March 16, with Kaduna- and Kano-based imams, who had been contacted by the SSS and entreated to serve as “sureties” for the 12 individuals noted above.”

However, Sanders noted that while the SSS pushed on with the plan, some of the imams “contended that the so-called de-radicalisation efforts of the SSS were not only ill-conceived, but also ineffective, counter-productive, and unimpressive.”

The cable claimed that Nigerian leaders and the Northern establishment in particular didn’t want terrorism to be associated with the country or the region.

“The release of the 12 individuals suspected of AQIM links and to planning terrorist attacks in Nigeria may be connected to overtures made by the SSS to northern traditional and Islamic leaders. While several imams have been reticent to concede that extremism (or terrorism) may obtain in the North, several others have told PolOff that they (and not the Government of Nigeria) are far more capable of dealing with extremism, contending that the matter must be dealt with internally, given local sensitivities and customs.

“In addition, the Sultan’s many public statements, remarking that al-Qaeda and terrorists do not exist in the North, may concern the North’s desire to protect its image. In any case, the Sultan has no special access to information to determine if terrorists indeed have inflitrated the country or not, or whether individuals are being actively recruited for terrorist activities. All the while, it remains important to note that while terrorism represents a salient issue for the USG, neither the GON nor the Islamic leaders we have talked with necessarily give it as much prominence as we would like or expect.”

The cable reveals that the State Security Service and the Northern traditional system reached an understanding for the secretive release and non-trial of terrorism suspects from the region. The deal provided that terrorism suspects from the region would be released to a carefully selected group of traditional rulers and Imams shortly after their arrest

Our correspondent reports that nearly all of the terrorism suspects arrested in the North belong to the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram..

“A member of the Sultan’s inner circle told PolOff the SSS Director (General) reportedly gave the Sultan his assurance that the SSS would not legally pursue the suspects if the North agreed to take custody of them and “reform their ways.”

The cable says that in some cases suspects were released despite been caught with explosives, arms and ammunition, or linked to the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. It says 12 suspects arrested and detained by the SSS in October 2007 for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks were released at different times in January and February 2008. Another US government cable says some of the suspects were later implicated in bombings and attacks claimed by Boko Haram.

Beaf:

Damn!
This simply shows that the problem is impossible to solve without [size=15pt]war[/size] or splitting the country. How can anybody replace the traditional rulers and Imans across the North? This is in addition to corrupt security services (another wikileaks has shown the Yar Adua's NSA to be an Islamic extremist).
These people are embedded deep within society.

alj_harem:

and yet u are meant to represent jonathan on this forum

guy u are a BIG BIGOT that hates the north. rubbish trash

Beaf:

This could only have happened because Yar Adua's NSA, Major General Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar is an Islamic extremist according to wikileaks.
The guy that bombed the UN headquarters was released in 2007 too; now, see what has happened.

ola olabiy:

Whaaat?! He stated d truth.

alj_harem:

what truth,.,., to go to war with us or seperate the country  

Why do u people have have to go to war to solve a problem are there no alternative route to it than going for a war where innocent people would pay for there lives

ola olabiy:

Not moi words, Alhaji. I didn't clamour for it

ola olabiy:

Whaaat?! He stated d truth.

alj_harem:

and yet u are meant to represent jonathan on this forum

guy u are a BIG BIGOT that hates the north. rubbish trash

Beaf:

You always talk very stup!dly like an orphaned, malnourished goat. Keep farting through your smelly mouth.
If I represent Jonathan, you surely represent boko haram.

Cow.

alj_harem:

what truth,.,., to go to war with us or seperate the country  

Why do u people have have to go to war to solve a problem are there no alternative route to it than going for a war where innocent people would pay for there lives

what he is meant to say is that the so called BH sponsors should be investigated, arrested in his home state or so . so that u people would not thing the north support BH. and persecuted

the majority of the causiltiy is the north US not even southerners so why would u thing going to war with us would solve the problem

naijaking1:

It's all coming together: Mukhtar+Dambazzau+Sultan+x= BK.
I hope GEJ will allow each and everyone of them to face the full weight of the law if found guilty, I mean public execution.

alj_harem:

see this animal .lol

no i don't represent BH because i don't agree with there views but U ON THE OTHER HAND SEES JONATHAN AS A god and would agree to his ever action even if it means killing urself u would say yes

goat

Beaf:

Why do you support boko haram if you are afraid of war? At some point Nigerians will get truly pissed off with the barbaric tactics from "born to rule" types; the reaction will come with robust and unmitigated force. Call it war if you like, its just a matter of time.

Beaf:

You're from the place, you look and think like one; therefore, you are a member of boko haram.
Abeg, go and chew grass as usual and leave normal people alone.

How come you're so stup!d anyway?

Beaf:

You always talk very stup!dly like an orphaned, malnourished goat. Keep farting through your smelly mouth.
If I represent Jonathan, you surely represent boko haram.

Cow.

alj_harem:

see this animal .lol

no i don't represent BH because i don't agree with there views but U ON THE OTHER HAND SEES JONATHAN AS A god and would agree to his ever action even if it means killing urself u would say yes

goat

alj_harem:

Why do you support MEND if you are afraid of war? At some point Nigerians will get truly pissed off with the barbaric tactics from "every land is ijaw land" types; the reaction will come with robust and unmitigated force. Call it war if you like, its just a matter of time before your southern neighbours would go against u.

alj_harem:

see this animal .lol

no i don't represent BH because i don't agree with there views but U ON THE OTHER HAND SEES JONATHAN AS A god and would agree to his ever action even if it means killing urself u would say yes

goat

Beaf:

Damn!
This simply shows that the problem is impossible to solve without war or splitting the country. How can anybody replace the traditional rulers and Imans across the North? This is in addition to corrupt security services (another wikileaks has shown the Yar Adua's NSA to be an Islamic extremist).
These people are embedded deep within society.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000538

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

DEPT FOR INR/AA, AF/W
DOE FOR GPERSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2033
TAGS: PGOV PINR PTER KJUS KISL NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: TERRORISM SUSPECTS GRANTED BAIL

REF: A. 07 ABUJA 2476
     ¶B. 07 ABUJA 2619
     ¶C. ABUJA 403

Classified By: PolCouns Walter Pflaumer for Reasons 1.4 (b, c, & d).

¶1. (U) The Abuja Federal High Court granted bail March 12 to
Muhammad Ashafa, who has been in police custody since 2004
when the GON extradited him from Pakistan for alleged ties to
al-Qaeda.  Ashafa's counsel Ifeyinwa Obegolu told PolOff
March 12 that the Nigerian police and State Security Service
(SSS) repeatedly employed "torture" to extract information
from Ashafa.  Obegolu claimed the "torture" led to Ashafa's
declining health, and argued before the court for Ashafa's
release to enable him to receive medical treatment outside
Abuja.  Ashafa will return to his hometown outside Kano
before the case resumes hearing May 7.

¶2. (S//NF) Five other individuals )- Abubakar Kambar, Umar
Hussaini, Awalu Haruna, Dauda Abdulmumin, Abubakar Abdulhamid
)- who had been arraigned November 2007 for conspiracy to
commit terrorist acts and unlawful possession of firearms and
explosives, posted bail of $45,000 March 12 (Ref A).  The SSS
Prosecutor told PolOff January 28 the evidence against the
five was both "overwhelming" and "undeniable."  As well, the
Prosecutor suggested several witness testimonies gathered by
the SSS implicated Kambar and Hussaini in planning the
attacks and securing funding and training to Mali to carry
out the attacks.  He remarked that Kambar and Hussaini had
been recruited in Kano by individuals directly linked with
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

¶3. (S//NF) An additional twelve individuals, who had been
arrested and detained by the SSS in October 2007 for
allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in Nigeria in concert
with the five noted above, were released January and February
¶2008.  As a condition for their release, these twelve acceded
to routine monitoring by and reporting to the SSS, as part of
a SSS program termed "Perception Management" -- aimed at
de-radicalizing and reforming Muslims, who have espoused or
otherwise participated in extremist-cum-terrorist activities.
Under this plan, individuals are released from police or SSS
custody and entrusted to "sureties" ) most of whom are imams
or respected traditional leaders in the North.  PolOff spoke
January 21, and again March 16, with Kaduna- and Kano-based
imams, who had been contacted by the SSS and entreated to
serve as "sureties" for the twelve individuals noted above.
The imams contended that the so-called de-radicalization
efforts of the SSS were not only ill-conceived, but also
ineffective, counter-productive, and unimpressive.

¶4. (S//NF) The court's March 12 bail ruling may be the first
step toward the case against Ashafa being thrown out.  The
authorities have not proffered a cogent case against the
terrorism suspect, preferring instead to detain him
indefinitely.  Ashafa did not appear to PolOff in ill health,
but rather in good spirits and fully coherent.  The court's
decision to release Ashafa on bail seemed inevitable given
the lack of evidence to prosecute.  Even Ashafa's ties to
al-Qaeda in Pakistan appeared tenuous, according to the
Public Prosecutor.  In discussions with counsel to Ashafa as
well as the Public Prosecutor in the case, Polof was told
that the court ostensibly remains under political pressure to
expedite, even throw out terrorism cases to ensure Nigeria is
not given the distasteful reputation of a "terrorist safe
haven."

¶5. (S//NF) COMMENT: The release of the twelve individuals
suspected of AQIM links and to planning terrorist attacks in
Nigeria may be connected to overtures made by the SSS to
northern traditional and Islamic leaders.  While several
imams have been reticent to concede that extremism (or
terrorism) may obtain in the North, several others have told
PolOff that they (and not the GON) are far more capable of
dealing with extremism, contending that the matter must be
dealt with internally, given local sensitivies and customs.
In late January, the Sultan of Sokoto (Nigeria's preeminent
traditional ruler and communal leader of Nigeria's 70 million
Muslims) told PolOff the Sultanate in concert with the
thirteen emirates of the North is "quietly" working to
leverage influence on the region's Islamic leadership to

ABUJA 00000538  002 OF 002


combat rising extremism and radicalization of Muslim youth.
A member of the Sultan's inner circle told PolOff January 22
the SSS Director reportedly gave the Sultan his assurance
that the SSS would not legally pursue the suspects if the
North agreed to take custody of them and "reform their ways."
In addition, the Sultan's many public statements, remarking
that al-Qaeda and terrorists do not exist in the North, may
concern the North's desire to protect its image.  In any
case, the Sultan has no special access to information to
determine if terrorists indeed have inflitrated the country
or not, or whether individuals are being actively recruited
for terrorist activities.  All the while, it remains
important to note that while terrorism represents a salient
issue for the USG, neither the GON nor the Islamic leaders we
have talked with necessarily give it as much prominence as we
would like or expect.

¶6. (C//NF) COMMENT CONT'D: As well, while Nigeria lacks
codified terrorism-related legislation, relying instead on
provisions of the EFCC Act to prosecute terrorism suspects,
it is far from certain that such legislation would
appreciably improve the GON's ability to act against
terrorists or interdict terrorist activities.  Judicial
corruption, which permeates the state and federal court
system, poor coordination between the Attorney General's
office and the SSS, unwillingness of SSS agents to testify in
court or remit affidavits to court, and an
ineffective/corrupt police force all exacerbate the GON's
incapacity to investigate and prosecute terrorism cases.
Furthermore, while we had reported (Ref B) that such
legislation had initially been introduced in 2005 and had
been sharply criticized by northern senators for perceived
anti-Muslim bias, individuals with entrenched interests in
the Niger Delta also helped shelve such legislation.  The GON
has hithertofore been hesitant to use the word "terrorism" to
describe militancy in the Delta; however, increased
bunkering, kidnapping of foreign oil workers, and damage to
Nigerian infrastructure -- as well as likely pandering to USG
concerns over global terrorism -- have permitted a more
liberal, undifferentiated use of the term "terrorism" to
apply broadly in the Nigerian context (Ref C).  The Inspector
General of Police Mike Okiro, for instance, has stated that
the GON's interest in developing an "anti-terrorism" squad
relates to its decire to combat "domestic terrorism" (i.e.,
armed robbery, kidnapping, etc.).  Moreover, Nigerian human
rights organizations and civil society contacts have
articulated their fears that any terrorism legislation may be
exploited by the GON to pursue political opponents or
dissidents.  END COMMENT.
SANDERS