An appeal has gone to President Goodluck Jonathan and the Chief of Army General Azubuike Ihejirika and other well meaning Nigerians to intervene and secure the release of their son Felix Okoye who is being detained by the General Officer Commanding [GOC] 81 division of the Nigerian Army in Lagos.
This appeal was made In Benin on Thursday by Okoye’s aged father Nwakasi Okoye who said his son Felix Okoye had an accident with the GOC 81 division of the Nigeria Army in Lagos.
Narrating what happened Pa Nwakasi Okoye, 80 years old said ‘the accident happened on Friday 7th September 2012 at Tin Can Island, Lagos at about 5pm when his truck Man Diesel accidentally hit the GOC 81 division, Lagos Major General Kenneth Minimah’s car Chrysler 300 tokunbo car, the car had not been registered when the accident happened.’
He said the infuriated General then took Okoye to the Dodan Barracks, Obalende Military guard room when the GOC ordered his detention since Friday without feeding him, he has been feeding himself since then.
He said his son had been denied access to his wife and family members since the date of the accident, his handset seized.
He said even when the driver promised he was ready to repair the General’s car but the GOC was not ready to listen to his plea but insisted ‘the bastard’ will rotten in detention. ‘This is a civil matter not military in nature, it is also illegal to detain a civilian in a military facility, this type of officer is denting the image of the Nigeria Army and the transformation agenda of the Chief of Army.’
He said all entreaties to make the General see reason and release the poor driver to come home to take care of his aged father and sick wife has so far fallen on deaf ears.
An attempt to reach the GOC 81 Div or the Army PRO was unsuccessful.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Thursday in Abuja reaffirmed his confidence in Nigeria’s ability to overcome its present challenges and emerge as a very strong, united, stable and economically-progressive nation.
Speaking at a farewell audience with the outgoing Austrian Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Stefan Scholz, President Jonathan said that his administration was steadfastly evolving and implementing policies and measures to tackle the country’s current developmental challenges, including those related to national security and power supply.
The President told Dr. Scholz that some of the positive effects of the policies, measures and actions being implemented by the Federal Government will become increasingly apparent in coming months.
President Jonathan commended the outgoing Ambassador for his efforts to improve bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Austria, noting that trade and economic relations between both countries had improved significantly during his tenure. “You have done wonderfully well and we are quite pleased with what you have achieved here,” he told Dr. Scholz.
Dr. Scholz described his tenure in Nigeria as a great “honour, privilege and opportunity” to get new perspectives on development.
He praised the Federal Government’s Agenda for National Transformation and pledged that Austria will continue to give Nigeria all possible support and assistance towards its successfully implementation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, on Wednesday September 12, 2012, arraigned Mr. Abdullahi Mohammed alias Dan Hadeja, 72, before Justice Abubakar Tijani of the Federal High Court II, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on a one count charge of obtaining the sum of N1, 155, 000 (one million, one hundred and fifty five thousand naira) under the false pretence that he was a registered distributor of Indomie noodles. The one count charge reads: “That you Abdullahi Mohammed alias Dan Hadeja sometimes in May, 2012, at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N1,155,000 (one million one hundred and fifty five thousand naira) from one Ahmed Sani under the false pretence that you are an agent and registered distributor of Indomie dust from Dufil Prima Company makers of Indomie Noodles located at Choba, Port Harcourt and was going to get wheat offal, waste product from the company for him which you know is false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act”. When the charge was read to the accused person through an interpreter, Mr. Sani A. Umar, he pleaded not guilty. Defence Counsel, A. M. Akin then pleaded with the court to grant the accused person bail, as his alleged offence was a bail able one. The prosecuting Counsel, Abbiyesuku Endeba did not oppose the bail application. Justice Tijani granted the accused person bail in the sum of N1million with one surety in like sum. The surety who must be within the jurisdiction of the court must have landed property which must be verified by Court Registrar. The surety must also swear an affidavit of means and be willing to forfeit the N1m in the event that the accused person jumps bail.
The court adjourned the case to November 19, 2012, for trial.
A new award series devoted to promoting the growth of the online media in Nigeria has been instituted by one of the country’s leading online publishers.
Announcing the birth of the Nigerian Online Media Awards (NOMA), Isaac Umunna, Publisher of the online daily, News Express, said that the motive is to help fast-track the emergence of a truly professional online media industry in the country.
“Whereas the Nigerian online media industry has been growing exponentially, a lot is still left to be desired in the area of professionalism,” Umunna said in a statement in Lagos. “The time has come to institute an awards that would serve to recognise and celebrate outstanding work by Nigeria’s online media, thus motivating practitioners to work even harder to improve on their craft,” he added.
Umunna, who is an international award-winning journalist, explained that the institution of the awards “is in keeping with the emerging global trend of promoting online media practice and recognising the efforts of its stakeholders, as is presently being done in Britain, for instance.”
He disclosed that NOMA would be held annually with effect from next year and would also be used to recognise non-journalists whose work in one way or the other impact online journalism practice in Nigeria.
“As the first of its kind, NOMA would be a ground breaker and a reference point in the industry,” Umunna assured, adding that “details about the various categories, as well as the NOMA Board and Judging panel would be unfolded in due course.”
Abuja based Non Governmental Organisation, Society for Rule of Law in Nigeria (SRLN) has described yesterday’s visit to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar by the governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi as suspicious.
The group said; “knowing the way functionaries of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) operate whenever they require favour from an individual or organisation, we are sure the motive of the visit was more than just to present the new Ekiti State laws.”
Fayemi had visited the CJN in Abuja yesterday shortly after the swearing-in of the new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to present the new laws of Ekiti State.
Reacting to the visit, SRLN said in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Chima Ubeku that it was morally wrong for Fayemi to have visited the CJN under any guise when the case filed by former governor, Chief Segun Oni against the Appeal Court judgment that brought him (Fayemi) to power was still pending before the Supreme Court.
The group, which however expressed confidence in the ability of the CJN and other justices of the Supreme Court to do justice without bias, wondered how many states in the country had presented its laws to the CJN in the past.
“The motive of yesterday’s visit to the CJN by Fayemi must be beyond mere presentation of new laws of Ekiti State as claimed.
“Though we are sure that the CJN and other justices of the Supreme Court are men and women of proven integrity, we wish to alert that the CJN should be mindful of the ways and manners the ACN people find their ways round important people whenever they are in dire need of favour from them.
“Most importantly, the questions that must be answered are; is it the normal practice for States to bring their laws to the CJN as done by Fayemi yesterday? Has any state presented its laws to the CJN before? Of what significant importance was the presentation of Ekiti State laws to the CJN when indeed, Fayemi and his other ACN governors are the ones championing true federalism?
“Therefore, from all indications, there could be more to the visit than meet the eyes and we wish to beg the CJN to be mindful of these schemers in the ACN so that they don’t soil her hard-earned reputation,” SRLN said.
Expect so much from Super Eagles, at your own peril. Former Abia state governor Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu highlighted this Thursday as he cautioned compatriots against building castles in the air.
Kalu explained that the Golden Years of Nigerian soccer when a Segun Odegbami could be hero worshiped in Accra or a Petit Sory would salute Emma Okalla from Conakry were gone.
He said, “You cannot give what you do not have. The present Eagles are not in any way Super. I cannot find even the shadow of Nwankwo Kanu, or the cleats of Rashidi Yekini in the squad. It is so bad that an Austin Okocha will not make any difference. Green may have defined the Eagles of Christian Chukwu, Odegbami and Okalla. The present bunch cannot do better than greenhorns.”
The ex-governor refused to blame Coach Stephen Keshi for the drab results so far recorded by the senior national team in the South Africa 2013 Nations’ Cup qualifiers.
“Those who want to crucify Keshi are not followers of the team. Maybe, they are Liberians. Fact is, the players do not have what it takes to rule Africa. Clemens Westerhof did well here because we had boys willing to die. Jo Bonfrere’s success came through the quality of stars. When they left Nigeria, the Dutchmen never won anything,” Kalu added.
Kalu advised Nigerians to shift support to the women and Special sports instead of concentrating on the Eagles.
“Eagles are on Ground Zero today. Tomorrow may bring a change. We need not worry. I can go watch the Falconets or wine and dine with the paralympians. Afterall, they are Nigerians. Let us switch our support until the Eagles begin to fly again, “he summed up.
The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) viewed with sadness thedamp and dismal reception given to our glorious Team Nigeria to the London 2012Paralympic Games by the Federal Government on Tuesday, which is unbefitting ofa team that brought glory to the nation against the backdrop of the recentdepressing outing by the able-bodied compatriots. Given that they won a basketof 13 medals, comprising 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze while making four worldrecords, the President’s unsavory body language in not sending even oneofficial of the National Sports Commission to receive the Team Nigeria at theairport on their arrival, smacks of insensitivity, which cannot be erased evenas the Presidency announced that the Paralympic Team would be received togetherwith the Falconets at the State House on Saturday. We believe that these wheelchairsports giants are heroes in their own right, and deserve special attention.
Furthermore, with a population that runs into tens ofmillions, people with disabilities are a neglected constituency in our greatnation, and this is not supposed to be so. In other advanced democracies,schools and other public buildings are made accessible to these citizens;walkways of roads have ramps, public conveniences have special features, andpublic vehicles have instrument of access. Sadly enough, even when the NationalAssembly, in 2010, sponsored and harmonized a bill to catalyze the culture ofcaring for these physically challenged citizens, President Goodluck Jonathanhas not deemed it important to sign it into law up till this moment.
We would love to put it on record that our great party witnessedwith joy, the exhilarating performance of The Nigerian Team at the justconcluded London Paralympic. This has further confirmed our belief in theindomitability of the human spirit, a driving philosophy which had urged usinto accommodating the physically challenged citizens of our great nation inour party’s internal political process. With a deep conviction that physicaldisabilities are not a handicap to one’s service to his or her country, we havea policy of encouraging the physically challenged by offering them freenomination forms and sponsoring them in elections.
The ANPP therefore calls on President Jonathan to sign thePeople With Disability [PWD] Bill into law as a matter of urgency, if not forany other reason, but as a reward to the Nigerians with disabilities who wentto London, saw and conquered the world, and by this singular outing, wiped awaythe shame of our nation, as Nigeria finally appeared with other victoriouscountries on the medal table at London.
Historian Tom Holland has received death threats after channel 4 screened his documentary on the history of Islam. The Television station was this week forced to cancel a second screening of the controversial documentary after the presenter was threatened with physical violence.
Once again the intolerance and hypersensitivity of a minority has been demonstrated when a perceived slight is suspected.
I watched the entire documentary online last night and I was like: ‘what’s all the fuss about?’
The programme was thoughtful and well researched and mirrored the views of many serious historians.
Despite their flaws, Christianity and Judaism have withstood the probing and scrutiny of historians. Until Islam is prepared to do so, questions will continue to be asked about its validity.
Islam is a proud faith with a solid history that has introduced many good things in the fields of science and medicine and has nothing to fear. But it must be prepared to be scrutinized.
The American Ambassador to Libya and three others was killed yesterday when gunmen attacked U.S. consulate in Libya.
Radical Islamists in Cairo tore apart Stars and Stripes flag in protests over film attacking Prophet Mohammed.
Someone published a cartoon or prophet Mohammed, in far-away Denmark. The author of that cartoon was a Dutch man, NOT a Nigerian and had never visited Nigeria. The cartoon was not published in Nigeria, but in far-away Denmark. Yet, some Muslims went on a rampage in Nigeria, burning over 20 Christian churches, looting and destroying businesses owned by Christians, and murdering over 200 Nigerian citizens!
Isioma Nkemdilim Nkiruka Daniel is a Nigerian journalist whose 2002 Thisday newspaper article comment involving the Islamic prophet Muhammad sparked major religious riots and caused a fatwa to be issued on her life. She ran away from fatherland and went into hiding!
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), was the centre of a major controversy, provoking protests from Muslims in several countries, some violent. He went into hiding after death threats were made against him, including a fatwā issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, on 14 February 1989.
The publication of The Satanic Verses in September 1988 caused immediate controversy in the Islamic world because of what was perceived as an irreverent depiction of the prophet Muhammad.
The publication of the book and the fatwā sparked violence around the world, with bookstores firebombed. Muslim communities in several nations in the West held public rallies, burning copies of the book. Several people associated with translating or publishing the book were attacked, seriously injured, and even killed. Many more people died in riots in some countries.
This morning Yemeni protesters, angry over a film mocking Islam, stormed the complex of the US embassy in Sanaa, defying efforts by riot police working as security guards to hold them at bay. Protesters torched a number of diplomatic vehicles as security forces used water cannons and warning shots in a bid to drive them out.
I implore all Muslim friends to hearken to the prayers of my friend Rasak Umoru over these developments:
“Oh Allah touch their hearts and restrain them from further damage and collateral damage on any human lives and properties….Summa Ameen.
“A peaceful protest is understandable but no, not a violent one like the unfortunate one that happened in Libya yesterday…We cannot afford the loss of lives of any innocent soul anymore certainly this is what Shaytan [Devil] wanted by using those lunatics to perpetrate such acts.
“The Yemenis should please with the love and fear of God stay out of trouble and leave judgment to Allah…..It’s not a threat but factual that the wrath of Allah will touch every single soul that has a part overtly or covertly in that blasphemous film…..Remember Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him forbids us in his hadith from taking the life of an innocent soul which is synonymous to killing of the whole mankind in weight of sin according to him in the sight of God….Allah also forbids us in the Quran from being aggressors as God loves not the aggressors.
“Caving in to violence will only help fuel the inordinate agitation of and joy of enemies of Islam….
“I enjoin my Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam to please join me in spreading the message of tolerance and peace in the face of provocation of this nature at this unfortunate time…..”
I pray others will follow Rasak’s footsteps, and Allah grant all more wisdom as they keep spreading this message for peace of humanity.
The Action Congress of Nigeria has called on Sule Lamido the governor of Jigawa State to immediately put a halt to the continued harassment and political persecution of the Jigawa State Chairman of its party Dr. Abubakar Hassan Fulata and members of his family.
In a statement issued at the end of its National Executive Committee meeting on Thursday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed the party said it can no longer standby and watch Sule Lamido continue to use the police and the courts in Jigawa state to haunt and intimidate Dr. Abubakar Hassan Fulata and members of his family whose only sin is that he testified at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that Sule Lamido is a secondary school drop out who never completed his secondary school education and that although he attended the famous Barewa College in Zaria he never sat for the West African School Certificate.
Since then according to the party Sule Lamido has subjected Dr. Abubakar Fulata to unimaginable persecution and harassment a catalogue of which can only find parallel in the the Uganda of Idi Amin and Sadam Hussein’s Iraq.
“For instance on the 9th of June while this matter was still before the Election Petition Tribunal, Dr. Abubakar Fulata was physically attacked with machetes and sticks at the premises of the Election Petition Tribunal by the PDP thugs under the very nose of the police.
Again on the 26th of June 2011 two days after the Election Petition Tribunal had ruled in favour of Sule Lamido, Dr. Abubakar Fulata was arrested and detained for “defaming” the character of Lamido whereafter he was remanded in prison for 8 days.
On the 11th of May 2012 notwithstanding a restraining order of a high court, a team of over 50 policemen arrested Dr Abubakar Fulata and detained him at the Jigawa Police Command for 3 days after which he was charged to court for kidnapping. He spent another 3 days in prison custody before he temporarily regained his freedom on the 19th of May 2012.
On the 11 th of July 2012, the Dutse High Court inexplicably withdrew its earlier restraining order and Dr. Fulata was promptly declared wanted by the police for arraignment before a Sharia Court and has since then gone into hiding for fear of his life.
Meanwhile Dr. Abubakar Fulata’s wife who is a staff of Jigawa State Government had been evicted out of her official quarters for no reason and his entire family as a result of the constant harassment and persecution has been forced to leave their ancestral home in Dutse.
This political harassment and persecution of Dr. Abubakar Fulata and his family by Sule Lamido has been described by the Action Congress of Nigeria as unconstitutional, unlawful and a gross abuse of power and has exposed the governor as intolerant, vindictive, despotic, ruthless and unfit to lead a civilised society. The party has therefore vowed to use all legal and constitutional means to stop this political harassment and persecution of its state chairman.
An Egyptian protester waves a black flag inscribed with the Muslim profession of faith “There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God” as he stands above the door of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo Sept. 11, 2012.
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration, roiled by the first killing of a U.S. ambassador in more than 30 years, has begun what appears to be a terrorist hunt in Libya, as evidence mounts that the deaths of four diplomatic workers there were perpetrated by well-armed thugs and not an out-of-control crowd.
CBS News correspondent David Martin reports the FBI has opened an investigation into the deaths, and agents will be sent to sift through the wreckage for evidence. They will be accompanied by a second team sent just for their protection.
As part of the hunt for the attackers, officials say the U.S. will increase its surveillance over Libya, including the use of unmanned drones. In addition, the U.S. Navy is positioning two destroyers armed with cruise missiles off the coast of Libya.
One destroyer, the USS Laboon, moved to a position off the coast Wednesday, and the USS McFaul is en route and should be stationed off the coast within days. Officials said the ships, which carry Tomahawk cruise missiles, do not have a specific mission. But they give commanders flexibility to respond to any mission ordered by the president.
The investigation will focus on whether the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was a planned terrorist strike to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and not a spontaneous mob enraged over an anti-Islam YouTube video.
After the attack, an elite anti-terrorist unit of about 40 Marines was flown in to beef up security at the American embassy in the capital of Tripoli. Air Force transport planes flew the bodies of the dead Americans out, along with at least three who were injured and the rest of the approximately 25 diplomats assigned to the consulate. At the same time, the U.S. State Department urged all non-essential personnel to leave on commercial flights.
Three Americans injured in the assault on the consulate in Benghazi were being treated Thursday at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, near America’s Ramstein Air Base, CBS News has learned.
Wanis al-Sharef, a Libyan Interior Ministry official in Benghazi, said there had been threats that Islamic militants might try to take revenge for the death of al Qaeda’s No. 2 commander Abu Yahya al-Libi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in June, and he said the U.S. consulate should have been better protected.
Confirming al-Libi’s death for the first time in a video posted online Monday, al Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahri called on Muslims in al-Libi’s native Libya to take revenge for his death.
U.S. officials believe the militants were using the demonstration against the video as a cover to get into the consulate and then take as much revenge as they could on Americans, Martin reports.
While the White House has been hesitant to call the attack planned, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers was not so ambiguous.
“Absolutely it’s a terrorist attack,” Rogers told CBS News Capitol Hill producer Jill Jackson. “This was not done by the Libyan government. It was done by an external group we believe has at least extremist ties, maybe al Qaeda ties, and the style and the signature of the attack clearly would be something that we have seen before and would be in line with something al Qaeda would do.”
The White House says President Obama called the presidents of Libya and Egypt Tuesday and urged them to continue working with the United States to ensure the safety of diplomatic personnel.
Mr. Obama thanked Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf for his condolences over the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other State Department officers during the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi Tuesday. The White House says the two leaders agreed to work together to bring the attackers to justice.
During a second call, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi promised Egypt “would honor its obligation to ensure the safety of American personnel,” the White House said.
Mr. Obama told Morsi that while “he rejects efforts to denigrate Islam … there is never any justification for violence against innocents.”
In a White House appearance Tuesday, Mr. Obama said the U.S. would “work with the Libyan government to bring to justice” those who Stevens and three other Americans.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said it was too early to judge whether the attack was planned.
“I know that this is being investigated, and we’re working with the Libyan government to investigate the incident. I would not want to speculate on that at this time,” he said. Several Libyan security guards also were killed.
Rogers, R-Mich., said U.S. intelligence had not yet determined who was responsible, but added, “Our list is narrowing.”
“When you see (such an attack), it wasn’t some folks who had some guns in their garage and said let’s shoot up the consulate,” Rogers said.
Analysts are working on several different scenarios based on intelligence that could lead to a motive for the attack. Some concern the possibility of targeting high-ranking officials, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. But none of the intelligence thus far has suggested terrorists would specifically target Stevens, said the official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
The attack in Libya, which came hours after a mob stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and tore down the U.S. flag, was presumed to have been triggered by a movie, whose trailer has gone viral on YouTube, depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in disrespectful ways. In an extraordinary move, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called anti-Islamic preacher Terry Jones and asked him to stop promoting the film. A spokeswoman said the church would not show the film Wednesday evening.
“Make no mistake. Justice will be done,” a somber Obama pledged at the White House, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at his side.
He ordered increased security at U.S. diplomatic missions overseas, particularly in Libya, and said he condemned “in the strongest possible terms the outrageous and shocking” attack. Clinton said she was particularly appalled that the attack took place in Benghazi, which the U.S. had helped liberate from dictator Muammar Qaddafi during the Arab Spring revolution in Libya last year.
Three Americans were wounded, U.S. officials said.
The aftermath of the two attacks also stirred the U.S. presidential campaign, where until Wednesday, foreign policy had taken a back seat to the struggling economy.
The Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, criticized the administration for statements issued before and after the Cairo attacks that expressed sympathy for those insulted by the video. But he in turn was criticized for turning a tragedy too quickly into political fodder, and getting key details wrong.
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration, roiled by the first killing of a U.S. ambassador in more than 30 years, has begun what appears to be a terrorist hunt in Libya, as evidence mounts that the deaths of four diplomatic workers there were perpetrated by well-armed thugs and not an out-of-control crowd.
CBS News correspondent David Martin reports the FBI has opened an investigation into the deaths, and agents will be sent to sift through the wreckage for evidence. They will be accompanied by a second team sent just for their protection.
As part of the hunt for the attackers, officials say the U.S. will increase its surveillance over Libya, including the use of unmanned drones. In addition, the U.S. Navy is positioning two destroyers armed with cruise missiles off the coast of Libya.
One destroyer, the USS Laboon, moved to a position off the coast Wednesday, and the USS McFaul is en route and should be stationed off the coast within days. Officials said the ships, which carry Tomahawk cruise missiles, do not have a specific mission. But they give commanders flexibility to respond to any mission ordered by the president.
The investigation will focus on whether the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was a planned terrorist strike to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and not a spontaneous mob enraged over an anti-Islam YouTube video.
After the attack, an elite anti-terrorist unit of about 40 Marines was flown in to beef up security at the American embassy in the capital of Tripoli. Air Force transport planes flew the bodies of the dead Americans out, along with at least three who were injured and the rest of the approximately 25 diplomats assigned to the consulate. At the same time, the U.S. State Department urged all non-essential personnel to leave on commercial flights.
Three Americans injured in the assault on the consulate in Benghazi were being treated Thursday at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, near America’s Ramstein Air Base, CBS News has learned.
Wanis al-Sharef, a Libyan Interior Ministry official in Benghazi, said there had been threats that Islamic militants might try to take revenge for the death of al Qaeda’s No. 2 commander Abu Yahya al-Libi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in June, and he said the U.S. consulate should have been better protected.
Confirming al-Libi’s death for the first time in a video posted online Monday, al Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahri called on Muslims in al-Libi’s native Libya to take revenge for his death.
U.S. officials believe the militants were using the demonstration against the video as a cover to get into the consulate and then take as much revenge as they could on Americans, Martin reports.
While the White House has been hesitant to call the attack planned, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers was not so ambiguous.
“Absolutely it’s a terrorist attack,” Rogers told CBS News Capitol Hill producer Jill Jackson. “This was not done by the Libyan government. It was done by an external group we believe has at least extremist ties, maybe al Qaeda ties, and the style and the signature of the attack clearly would be something that we have seen before and would be in line with something al Qaeda would do.”
The White House says President Obama called the presidents of Libya and Egypt Tuesday and urged them to continue working with the United States to ensure the safety of diplomatic personnel.
Mr. Obama thanked Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf for his condolences over the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other State Department officers during the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi Tuesday. The White House says the two leaders agreed to work together to bring the attackers to justice.
During a second call, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi promised Egypt “would honor its obligation to ensure the safety of American personnel,” the White House said.
Mr. Obama told Morsi that while “he rejects efforts to denigrate Islam … there is never any justification for violence against innocents.”
In a White House appearance Tuesday, Mr. Obama said the U.S. would “work with the Libyan government to bring to justice” those who Stevens and three other Americans.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said it was too early to judge whether the attack was planned.
“I know that this is being investigated, and we’re working with the Libyan government to investigate the incident. I would not want to speculate on that at this time,” he said. Several Libyan security guards also were killed.
Rogers, R-Mich., said U.S. intelligence had not yet determined who was responsible, but added, “Our list is narrowing.”
“When you see (such an attack), it wasn’t some folks who had some guns in their garage and said let’s shoot up the consulate,” Rogers said.
Analysts are working on several different scenarios based on intelligence that could lead to a motive for the attack. Some concern the possibility of targeting high-ranking officials, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. But none of the intelligence thus far has suggested terrorists would specifically target Stevens, said the official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
The attack in Libya, which came hours after a mob stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and tore down the U.S. flag, was presumed to have been triggered by a movie, whose trailer has gone viral on YouTube, depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in disrespectful ways. In an extraordinary move, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called anti-Islamic preacher Terry Jones and asked him to stop promoting the film. A spokeswoman said the church would not show the film Wednesday evening.
“Make no mistake. Justice will be done,” a somber Obama pledged at the White House, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at his side.
He ordered increased security at U.S. diplomatic missions overseas, particularly in Libya, and said he condemned “in the strongest possible terms the outrageous and shocking” attack. Clinton said she was particularly appalled that the attack took place in Benghazi, which the U.S. had helped liberate from dictator Muammar Qaddafi during the Arab Spring revolution in Libya last year.
Three Americans were wounded, U.S. officials said.
The aftermath of the two attacks also stirred the U.S. presidential campaign, where until Wednesday, foreign policy had taken a back seat to the struggling economy.
The Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, criticized the administration for statements issued before and after the Cairo attacks that expressed sympathy for those insulted by the video. But he in turn was criticized for turning a tragedy too quickly into political fodder, and getting key details wrong.
