According to a report by Daily Trust, wanted terrorist, Ahmed Al-Assir, who was
arrested in Lebanon on his way to Nigeria, was coming on the
invitation of a foreign company operating in the country.
Sources in Nigeria’s security circles, who spoke to Daily Trust on
condition of anonymity, said the visa was issued by a Foreign Service
official in Beirut based on that invitation.
According to the sources, without a letter of invitation the hate preacher’s visa
application would not have been approved. Discussions within the
security circles in Nigeria centred on a popular middle-eastern company operating in Nigeria as the originator of the invitation
letter for the issuance of the visa. A source said allegations that a
bribe of about $8,000 was paid by Al-Assir to obtain the visa has not
been confirmed. Security sources however said even if a bribe that big
was offered, it was highly
unlikely that the official who issued the visa received such money
alone. It was hinted that the intelligence report of the plans of
Al-Assir to
visit Nigeria was given to the Lebanese authorities by Hezbollah. He
pointed out that the lack of an active Foreign Service liaison with
security and intelligence organization at the Nigeria embassy in Beirut
made it difficult to share such intelligence operations with Nigeria
directly.
It is suspected in security circles that Al-Assir is coming to Nigeria
to link up with Boko Haram leaders to lend support. Sources emphasized
that Nigeria needs to improve its foreign service liaison in Beirut and
other embassies abroad ´so as to obtain vital intelligence of security
concerns, because apparently non-existed.”
Foreign Service officials are supposed to liaise with intelligence and
security organizations of host countries and share intelligence
information in the tradition of “give and take,” the sources added.
President Buhari has ordered an investigation into how the ISIS leader secured a valid Nigerian visa in Lebanon.
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