Al Qaeda has found their ideological soul mates in al-Shabaab, Somalia and is now turning to Northern Nigeria. Photo:
An al-Qaeda cell in North Africa, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), yesterday offered to help Nigerian Muslims with training and weapons during their battles, as Nigeria grapples with religious crisis.
This deadly offer is coming 71 days after President Umaru Yar ‘Adua travelled out of the country on health grounds without fulfilling the constitutional obligation of handing over power to his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan.
According to a Reuter’s report, the al-Qaeda group, while claiming a constituency in the Nigerian Muslim community, said, “we are ready to train your people in weapons, and give you whatever support we can in men, arms and munitions to enable you to defend our people in Nigeria,” according to its statement posted on Islamic websites that often carry statements from groups using the al-Qaeda signature.
Trying to lend a global perspective to its cause, the extremist promised support to Nigerian Muslims: “You are not alone in this test. The hearts of Mujahideen are in pain over your troubles and desire to help you as much as possible, in the Islamic Maghreb, Somalia,
Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya.” The statement was signed by Abu Mus’ab Abdel-Wadoud, who was described as the “emir”, or leader, of the group.
Religious crises have plagued the nation since independence and only recently in Jos, the Plateau state capital, over 300 lives were lost in an ethnic conflict in December 2009, which, as usual, eventually took the complexion of a religious battle between Christians and Muslims.
Earlier in July, an Islamic sect called Boko Haram staged attacks on security operatives across states in Northern Nigeria, calling for the imposition of sharia law on Nigeria. Last December, another sect, the Kalo kuta, also staged series of attacks in Bauchi state.
All the crises were quelled by security operatives drawn from the rank of both the police and the military. The Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, personally deployed the military to halt the violence in Jos after four days of fratricidal clashes between Christians and Muslims.
Speaking to NEXT by telephone yesterday, the Missionary leader of the Ansarudeen Movement in Nigeria, Abdulrahman Ahmad, decried this new development as “funny and laughable” saying the internet is “a supersonic highway where anybody and anyone can post anything.”
“As a stakeholder in the Nigerian community,” Mr. Ahmad said, “I can authoritatively assure you that there is no al-Qaeda sect in Nigeria and the Nigerian Muslim community is not that loose and helpless to accept any offer or help from any organisation claiming to be fighting a religious war.”
When asked about the likelihood of sects like Boko Haram and Kalo Kuta to accept such dubious offers, Mr. Ahmad admitted that he was worried about the state of preparedness of the security forces. “The honest truth is that our security operatives are not doing their jobs in securing the lives and properties of Nigerians. These sects you mention were fighting Muslims as well during their campaign” he said, adding that “People just hap on religion when it shouldn’t be; poverty and joblessness are issues that should be addressed.”
The cleric enjoined journalists not to be deceived by every available information and suggested that they do some investigative journalism to find out the true situation.
We are ready
The Nigerian police, reacting to the new threat, said it is “capable of protecting lives and properties of Nigerians.” The force’s deputy public relations officer, Yemi Ajayi said that, “such a message will not be a threat. They will not be a threat, as we have always proactively done a number of things to checkmate such alarms.”
He said the information came from ‘mischief makers’ and promised that, “the Nigerian Police will not rest on our oars, we will not go to sleep be it the handiwork of mischief makers.” Investigations revealed that the group does not have a website. They operate like other militia groups, like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta by sending email to reporters to state their views.
The al-Qaeda organisation in the Islamic Maghreb have links to al-Qaeda which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state through an insurgent campaign. The group is involved in smuggling, protection rackets and money laundering across the borders of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and Chad - which provides its financial underpinnings.
However, recent developments seem to indicate that a splinter group may have sought refuge in the Tuareg regions of northern Mali and Niger following crackdowns by Algerian government forces in the North and South of the country since 2003.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23 year old Nigerian is on trial in the US for attempting to bomb an American plane over Detroit on Christmas day in an attack claimed by a Yemen Al Qaeda unit in the Arabian Peninsula.
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