Information available to 247ureports.com indicates that security officials in Kano on Thursday released the names of three Arabs [Lebanese] as suspects in last Tuesday’s discovery of a bunker of arms and ammunition.
The assorted firearms were neatly concealed inside coolers and packed inside a bunker in a bungalow on Gaya Road, Bompai, Kano.
Addressing reporters on the issue at the scene of the discovery, Commander of 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Kano, Brigadier-General Ilyasu Abbah named the suspects as, Abdallah Hassan Fadallah, Mustapher Fawaz and Abdullahi Tigani, adding that they have all been moved to Abuja for further investigations.
The army chief recalled that one of the suspects, Tahini was once arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International airport over undeclared 60000 US Dollars on his way to Lebanon adding that he is an Abuja based businessman.
The security chief disclosed further that the assorted dangerous weapons intercepted from the home of the suspects had link with the Lebanese based Hezbollah fighters.
The suspects were quoted as saying during preliminary investigations that the weapons were meant to fight Israeli and Western interests in the country.
“Even if they were meant to fight Israeli and Western interest in the country as they claimed, are Nigerians not working in those organizations”, General Abbah, queried.
He also noted that the building of bunker inside a building to conceal weapons of mass destruction, confirms the suspects ulterior motive. Speaking during the briefing, Bassey Etang, Director of State Security Service in Kano said “We cannot say how long the weapons have been in the bunker, the rust you is as a result of the conditions they have been exposed to, but are still serviceable, again we cannot link them with Boko Haram, until the conclusion of investigation, but we suspect such group like Hezbollah can have link with Boko Haram.”
Some of the items recovered from the bunker include 17 AK 47 Riffles, 11,433 bullets, 76 military grenades, 1 Rocket Propeller Grenade (RPG2), 21 RPG bombs, nine pistols, 103 PMT Slap, all concealed inside coolers.
Narrating how the discovery was carried out, Brigadier-General Abbah said, “on 28 May 13 a combined team of the JTF involving the NA of the 3 Brigade here in Kano and the Kano state DSS conducted a thorough search of this house located at No 3 Gaya Road off Bompai Road Kano belonging to one Abdul Hassan Taher Fadlalla a Lebanese national who is currently out of the country.
After painstaking search of the whole premises, the search team uncovered an underground bunker in the the master bed room where a large quantity of assorted weapons of different types and caliber were recovered.
“The bunker was specially constructed for this purpose. It is worth mentioning to say that the weapons include anti tank weapons, rocket propelled guns, anti tank/anti personnel mines among other dangerous weapons. All the weapons and ammunition recovered were properly concealed with several layers of concrete and placed in coolers, drums and bags neatly wrapped.
“These discoveries were not accidental but the outcome of an ongoing robust counter terrorism investigation by the Department of the State Services Abuja in the past several months. The investigation also confirms the existence of a Hizbullah Foreign Terrorist Cell in Nigeria. Consequently, the DSS on 16 May 2013 arrested one Mustapha Fawaz the co-owner of the popular Amigo Supermarket as well as the wonderland Amusement Park all in Abuja.
“Thus, his arrest and confession unveiled other members of the foreign terrorists network which led to the interception of one member of the syndicate named Abdullah Tahini a Lebanese national at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with undeclared amount of sixty thousand United States Dollars on him enroute Beirut. Thereafter on 26 May 2013 one Talal Roda also a Lebanese with Nigerian Passport was arrested in this same house.
“All those arrested have confessed to have undergone Hizbullah Terrorist Training and further implicated one Fauzi Fawad, also a co-owner of Amigo Supermarket and wonderland Amusement Park. However, the fellow is now at large. The arms and ammunition were targeted at facilities of Israel and Western interest in Nigeria; however, the security agencies are making frantic efforts to unveil the true situation. At the end of investigation, all those involved will be prosecuted.”
The army commander appealed members of the public to always cooperate with the security agents in the campaign to free the state from the activities of terrorists.
