In Daura, the very home of Nigeria’s President in Katsina State, is a budding terrorist cell affiliated to the Middle East killers, the Islamic State or ISIS.
Daura is the spiritual home of the Hausa people and along with Katsina are referred to by the University of California’s African American Studies Department as having been the “ancient seats of Islamic culture and learning.”
President Muhammadu Buhari was born in Daura on 17 December 1942 to his father Adamu and mother Zulaihat. He was the twenty-third child of his father and was raised by his mother, after his father died when he was about four years old.
It is in that very place, the home of the Nigerian President who has vowed to flush out Boko Haram and other extremist groups from Nigeria, that a cell of terrorists has decided to make their base, the Nigerian police said on Tuesday in a release about terrorist activities in Nigeria.
The secret police organisation known as Department of State Service said in a press statement on Tuesday that on “17 January, 2016, in Daura township of Daura LGA, Katsina State, another budding extremist cell affiliated to ISIS, was intercepted by the Service”.
The secret police said it arrested Ibrahim Mohammed DAURA, Zaharadeen SALISU and five other elements of the proscribed extremist group, Ansaru.
“This group was discovered in an active stage, as its members were already co-ordinating themselves for attacks in Katsina and Kano States,” said a statement by Tony OPUIYO, the spokesman for Department of State Service.
But the terrorists are not just hiding in President Buhari’s home state, the secret police said, as on the same day, Abdussalam Enesi YUNUSA, described as a recruiter for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was arrested in Kano.
“His arrest was sequel to available intelligence which indicated his terrorist antecedents and covert drive to indoctrinate and recruit susceptible youths in the country,” the police said.
“Prior to his arrest, YUNUSA had completed arrangements to embark on a journey to join an ISIS terrorist training camp in Libya, with other Nigerians whom he recruited for the ‘Islamic State’.
“These recruits include the trio of one Muhammed RABI’U, Yahaya Momoh JIMOH and Zainab SUNDAY (f). YUNUSA is a 400 level undergraduate student of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, where he was studying for a degree in Information and Media Technology.
“He was subsequently radicalized and became a member of an extremist cell, comprising of one IBRAHIM (fnu) and Abubakar LIGALI, whom he revealed are currently undergoing terrorist training in Libya.
“He listed one AMINU (fnu) and Ibrahim JIHADI (Nigeriene), as other ISIS agents operating in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. The cell was being funded by one Abu-sa’ad Al Sudani, a media expert with the extremist group using Western Union money transfers to fund the terrorist cell agenda,” the police added.
That was not all, the police said as “in the same vein, on 22nd January, 2016, one Obansa SALAMI, Ejide TIJANI aka Abu Uwaise II, Mohammed RABIU aka Ubida II, Zainab MOHAMMED and Abdulqadir Salisu AHMAD were arrested in Kano by this Service, while migrating to Libya, with their immediate families including infants, in a bid to join ISIS. This group was apprehended after painstaking monitoring of its network and plans.
“On 29th January, 2016, the Service arrested Mohammed AliyuNDAKO in Kwara State. NDAKO is a seventeen (17) year old undergraduate student of a tertiary institution in the State. He was arrested sequel to credible intelligence on his plans with one Abdulkadir Salisu AHMAD a.k.a Daddy Tall, another student in Kano State, to carry out coordinated lone-wolf attacks on selected populated targets in Nigeria preferably worship centres or recreation venues. Suspect had hitherto been communicating with foreign extremist elements, while sourcing online terrorist training and support”.