Nigeria News Update: Federal Government Slams Discriminatory Flight Checks by the United States

Nigerian Minister of Information Dora Akunyili has voiced the Federal Government's objection to the targeting of its citizens by the United States in the so-called "war on terrorism." Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23, will be arraigned in Detroit.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos

Nigeria Slams 'Discriminatory' Flight Checks

Mon Jan, 04 2010
By Wire Report
Times of Nigeria

Nigeria, home of the failed US plane bomber, Monday branded new security measures for passengers flying to the United States unfair and said they amounted to discrimination against its 150 million people.

The US government announced that travellers from 14 countries, including Nigeria, are to be subjected to extra checks including body pat-downs after a young Nigerian was accused of trying to blow up a US jet on Christmas Day.

But Nigeria's Information Minister Dora Akunyili said that Africa's most populous nation did not have a history of terrorism and such a move could not be justified.

"It is unfair to include Nigeria on the US list for tighter screening because Nigerians do not have terrorist tendencies," Akunyili told journalists.

"It is unfair to discriminate against over 150 million people because of the behaviour of one person," said the minister.

A 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been accused of trying to trigger an explosion on theNorthwest Airlines plane with chemicals which had been stitched into his underwear.

"Abdulmutallab's behaviour is not reflective of Nigerians and should therefore not be used as a yardstick to judge all Nigerians," said Akunyili.

"He was not influenced in Nigeria. He was not recruited or trained in Nigeria. He was not supported whatsoever in Nigeria."

Prosecutors say that Abdulmutallab tried to carry out the attack after undergoing training by a Yemen-based Al-Qaeda cell which said it was behind the plot.

Nigeria's angry response is the first from the 14 countries on the US list, which include Cuba, Iran, Sudan andSyria, designated state sponsors of terrorism by Washington.

The new measures would apply to all passengers travelling from or via a total of 14 countries, includingAfghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, as well as Nigeria, where Abdulmutallab's family lives.

The New York Times and Washington Post quoted government officials as saying the other four countries were Algeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Akunyili said the incident involving Abdulmutallab was a "one-off thing".

His "behaviour is not reflective of Nigerians and should therefore not be used as a yardstick to judge all Nigerians."

"Abdulmutallab was a well-behaved child, from a responsible family, who developed the ugly tendency to do what he tried to do because of his exposure outside the shores of Nigeria," the minister said.

Washington said Monday stricter measures will be compulsory on flights from the 14 nations while random "enhanced" checks will be carried out on all planes landing at a US airport.

"Every individual flying into the US from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening," theTransport Security Administration said.

All travellers from the targeted countries would be subjected to extra body pat-downs and advanced screening of baggage, a US official said. Imaging and explosive detection technology might also be used.


Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Reps seek open court trial for Farouk

From JOSHUA I. EGBODO, Abuja
New Nigerian

THE House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora has called for an open and fair trial of Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab over the attempted terror attack of December 25 last year in the United States of America.

Reacting to the recent call by US Congressman, Peter King of the Republican Party as well as a member of US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, that Farouk should be tried in a secret military court, the Abike Dabiri-Erewa-led committee has described the call as “unfair and unjustifiable”.

The committee which has joined others in the call for an open trial of 23-year-old Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab has also appealed to Nigerians in diaspora to exercise restraint and caution when being subjected to screening at various international airports.

In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the committee further called on security agencies globally not to use the event of December 25, 2009 as a justification to molest and harass innocent Nigerians in diaspora.

The statement signed by the committee’s Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa reads: “Having watched with keen interest, the investigation being carried out by the security agencies in the US on the alleged bomber, Farouk, the committee is hereby insisting for an open court trial rather than a military one for the suspected bomber.

“This is so important in order to allow the global community listen to Farouk talk in an open court, understand his motivation and take the necessary learning as individuals and as nations.

“It would be in the global interest to share the information and lessons to be learnt through an open court trial by the global community so as to forestall any likely future occurrence,” Dabiri-Erewa said. Farouk is undergoing trials over alleged attempt to bomb a Detroit bound passenger aircraft in the early hours of last Christmas day.


Tuesday, January 05, 2010

FG flays inclusion of Nigeria on terror list

New Nigerian

THE Minister of Information and Communications Professor Dora Akunyili, yesterday in Abuja condemned the United States’ decision in putting Nigeria on the U.S. terror list. “It is unfair to include Nigeria on the U.S. list for tighter screening because Nigerians do not have terrorist tendency,’’ the minister said in a statement.

She said that Nigerians all over the world were peaceful and loving people, adding that Umar Farouk Abdulmutalab’s act was a one-off thing. Farouk was the 23-year-old Nigerian who allegedly attempted to blow up an airliner carrying almost 300 passengers in the U.S on Christmas day.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the American government said that from January 4, it would begin enhanced screening procedures on any U.S.-bound air passenger travelling through “state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest” such as Pakistan, Yemen and Nigeria.

The minister stated that Farouk’s behaviour was not reflective of Nigerians and should therefore not be used as a yardstick to judge all Nigerians. “It is unfair to discriminate against over 150 million people because of the behaviour of one person.”

“Farouk was a well-behaved child from a responsible family who developed the ugly tendency to do what he tried to do because of the exposure outside the shores of Nigeria, Akunyili said. She added: “Generally, no Nigerian wants to die; we are peace-loving and happy people.”


Putting Nigeria on watch list is bad for foreign investment

By Ifedayo Adebayo
Nigeria Next
January 5, 2010 05:28AMT

The listing of Nigeria as one of the seven countries on the United States of America top security watch will affect the rate of investment in Nigeria, except the federal government takes steps to strengthen its foreign policies, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Bashir Borodo, has said.

The U.S. has grouped Nigeria with Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen as countries to watch. This group differs from another made up of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria that have been classified as state sponsors of terror.

Mr. Borodo said the U.S. has over-reacted to the issue and that its decision is harsh, compared to its reactions to similar incidents in the past.

He said: "I recall the shoe bomber that was caught about two years ago; a British citizen carrying almost the same type of chemical in the shoe, no special restrictions were imposed on his country as a result of this. So why Nigeria, why Nigeria?"

Mr. Borodo said, "It is a very bad development for our economy at this stage that we are struggling to regain our status and stabilise the economy. I think it is an overreaction that is not fair to us."

A professor of International Relations at the University of Lagos, Kayode Soremekun, said enlisting Nigeria is like placing the sin of one person on a whole nation of 140 million people. "Considering the history of terrorism," he said, "Nigeria does not deserve to be added to whatever kind of list the U.S. might draw up on this.

Decision is hasty

"Nigeria's economy is already a weakened one and the impact of such a decision might not be seriously felt by an average Nigerian. They are acting in the heat of moment. When the heat comes down, they might look back.

"Nigeria is already a weakened state. Our leaders have given us a bad image outside there. We are known for other things, if not terrorism and Nigeria cannot have any leverage on the U.S.A. So, there is now an uneven relationship between the leadership of the two countries."

A senior research scholar at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), who spoke on condition of anonymity because he needed to get clearance before talking to the press, however, said the listing might not have much impact on the nation.

"Well, I don't think it will have much implication on us.

What the US was doing was within the anti-terrorism campaign and not an economic sanction. It has more to do with their own security image.

"It has dampened the image of this country. If you cast back on the OBJ (former president Obasanjo) era, all he was doing was to give the country a good image. But that now depends on the strength of our foreign policy, it must be stronger, though it will affect foreign investment. Violence is destructive and not constructive and with the present way that Nigeria has been linked to such, it will definitely affect the rate of investment. Remember that investment is about using capital to make profit."

De-list Nigeria

The Inspector General of Police, Ogbonnoya Onovo has, however, called on the U.S. government to de-list Nigeria from the watch list in the light of the country's cooperation with U.S. officials since the December 25 incident.

"In light of all this, the Transport Security Administration of the United States is hereby called upon to de-list Nigeria from the countries of interest. Nigerian travellers to the United States need not be subjected to extraordinary hardship. There are no security issues in the country.

The new policy is unfair," Mr. Onovo said "There are convicted terrorists who are American, British and Belgian citizens, and this fact has not made the TSA regard either Britain or Belgium as a country of interest. For the avoidance of doubt, I would like to point out that Hamid Hyat, who was convicted in April 2007 of terrorism, is an American. Richard Reid, who is serving a life sentence in the United States for attempting on December 22, 2001 to bomb an American commercial plane flying from Paris to Miami, is a British citizen. His collaborator, Nizar Trabelsi, is Belgian.

"If the American authorities could not add Britain and Belgium to the list of countries of interest, then there is no objective reason to include Nigeria. We may be deeply religious, but certainly we are no suicide bombers or terrorists. Both the Nigerian government and the people abhor fanaticism. We have zero policy tolerance towards Al Queda in Nigeria. We strongly condemn unequivocally all kinds of terrorism.

"It is self-evident that Farouk Abdultallab has no Nigerian cohorts. It is also self-evident that he did not develop radical religious views in Nigeria, but abroad." Mr. Onovo said.


Nigeria formally protests to U.S. for listing it in terror nations

LAGOS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has formally protested to the U.S. decision to including the west African country in the list of terror nations.

The U.S. decision came after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year old Nigerian, attempted to blow up a jetliner as it approached Detroit after a flight from Amsterdam but failed on Christmas Day.

The Nigerian protest came as the U.S. government has released a list of 14 countries, namely Nigeria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Cuba , Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Sudan with directives that passengers traveling from these countries to the United States by air face extra security screening.

"Listing Nigeria on the second tier of countries that are on the radar of security measures to the United States is an unacceptable New Year gift to a friendly country like Nigeria," the country's minister of foreign affairs Ojo Maduekwe told reporters in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with U.S Ambassador to Nigeria Robin Sanders.

"We detect some double standards here," he said.

The U.S. government has said from Jan. 4, it would begin enhanced screening procedures on any U.S.-bound air passenger travelling through state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest such as Pakistan, Yemen and Nigeria.

"What Farouk (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab) attempted to do is not different from what the shoe bomber did in 2001 and yet his country was not put on the security list," the minister stressed.

Maduekwe who described the inclusion as counter-productive, said Nigeria wants to be off that list.

He said it is in the interest of both countries (Nigeria and the United States) to sustain the existing cordial relationships.

Maduekwe told reporters that the U.S. envoy promised to convey Nigeria's position to his government.

Abdulmutallab is accused of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines Airbus as it made its descent to Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

He is alleged to have boarded a plane at the Lagos Murtala Muhamed International Airport, and transferred onto a trans- Atlantic flight at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.


Foreign minister summons US ambassador over terror list

By Ayo Okulaja, Ini Ekott and Festus Owete
Nigeria Next
January 6, 2010 12:07AMT

Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, summoned the United State Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, to a closed door meeting in his office to protest Nigeria's inclusion on a US terror list and the attendant tighter screening for passengers from Nigeria travelling to the US.

"I made it clear, through the US ambassador, to the US government that this is unacceptable to Nigeria," Mr. Maduekwe told journalists after the meeting with Ms. Sanders in his office. "Listing Nigeria on the second tier of countries that are indicated on the radar of security measures from the US is an unacceptable New Year gift to a friendly country like Nigeria. We detect some double standards here." The minister said what Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted was not different from what the shoe bomber did in 2001 and yet his country (United Kingdom) was not put on the security list.

Mr. Maduekwe, who described the inclusion as counter-productive, said "we want to be off that list" and that it was in the interest of both countries to sustain the existing cordial relationships.

Maduekwe also informed journalists that Ms. Sanders promised to convey government's position to the U.S., adding that the US had offered to provide 14 body scanners to enhance security at the nation's airports.

Condemnation by Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Joy Ogwu, has demanded the United State government to respect Nigeria's position on terrorism.

Mrs Ogwu told the News Agency of Nigeria that Nigeria "cannot be adjudged a terrorist country because of the misdeed of one man. The person in question did not receive his training in Nigeria, nor did he grow up in the country.

"Terrorism is alien to our culture and I can't even find a word for it in my own native language," she said in New York.

The envoy said Nigeria's prominence in international politics would come to fore this year as it takes the seat as one of the newly elected five non-permanent members of the 15-member UN Security Council.

The House of Representatives' spokesperson, Eseme Eyibo, said on Tuesday the decision of the United States to include Nigeria on the list of countries marked for stricter airport body checks, is not only unfair but "unwarranted." He said although the position of Nigeria on the matter is purely an executive decision, the American authorities should be made to understand that such a decision will hurt the diplomatic ties between both countries.

"The earlier they de-list Nigeria on that list or rescind from the decision to put us on alert, the better for our diplomatic relations", he said Tuesday.

Mr. Eyibo said the United States' conduct in the whole event since December 25, 2009, raises questions on the roles played by its security agencies.

"The CIA and the FIB, Security agencies in the United States are also culpable in the terrorism that they are talking about. It is possible that they have accomplices with the guys that trained that boy in Yemen," he said. "If not, why didn't they condemn Yemen, why have they spared Yemen and are now condemning Nigeria?"