Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, addressing an African American History Month forum in Detroit on February 28, 2009. (Photo: Cheryl LaBash)
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
23-year-old Nigerian faces six federal charges amid escalation of threats and tensions from West Africa to the Arabian Peninsula
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
DETROIT—-A 23-year-old Nigerian youth was arraigned on six federal counts in U.S. District Court in Detroit on January 8. The charges stem from what prosecutors say was an attempt to ignite explosives on a Northwest Flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab appeared in court at the arraignment and entered a plea of not-guilty to the charges which are spelled out in an eight page criminal indictment. The indictment accuses him of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; attempted murder within the jurisdiction of the United States; willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft within the special jurisdiction of the United States; willfully placing a destructive device in, upon and in proximity to an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, which was likely to endanger the safety of such aircraft; and two counts of possession of a firearm/destructive in furtherance of a crime of violence.” (U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division)
The arraignment proceeding took place in front of Magistrate Judge Mark Randon and lasted less than five minutes. The defendant was asked if he understood the charges against him and responded yes.
Abdulmutallab also responded to a question from the judge in regard to him being given medication in the previous twenty-four hours. He responded that he had been given pain relievers. The defendant was reported to have been injured during the incident aboard Northwest Flight 253 on December 25.
Abdulmutallab was represented in court by Chief Federal Defender Miriam Siefer. It has also been reported that the defendant will be represented by two additional attorneys from the federal defenders office, Leroy Soles and Jill Price.
Two Nigerian lawyers were also present at the arraignment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais and Mr. Mahmud Kazaure, who are representing the interests of the family of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Attorneys representing the defendant and his family refused to make any comments on the case.
Outside the courtroom a near-circus atmosphere prevailed with hundreds of journalists vying for interviews with witnesses and spectators in the arraignment proceedings. Media crews from numerous press agencies including CNN, Al Jazeera, the BBC, local television and radio stations as well as newspapers, swarmed the area around West Lafayette and Washington Blvd. in downtown Detroit.
A demonstration of about 100 people marched in front of the federal courthouse holding signs saying they were in opposition to terrorism and that they were Americans. A local Dearborn man, in conjunction with the corporate media had reported that thousands of Muslims would be out front during the arraignment in order to distance themselves from Abdulmutallab. However, despite all of the media promotion, the crowd remained small and was largely overshadowed by the press.
At least one person held a counterdemonstration emphasizing the role of the United States in inflicting crimes against people within the Muslim world. Abdulmutallab was taken from the U.S. District Court building accompanied by a convoy of federal and local police vehicles.
Continuing Impact of the Detroit Case on Developments in Yemen and Nigeria
Since the incident on December 25 aboard the Detroit-bound airliner, greater emphasis has been placed on the nation of Yemen. Corporate media outlets have interviewed numerous intelligence and military analysts who promote the notion that Yemen is a center of al-Qaida activity.
However, the U.S. intelligence agencies and military forces have been active in Yemen for a number of years. Over the last several months there has been military intervention by neighboring Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the U.S. In addition, dozens of Yemenis were killed in U.S.-coordinated attacks during the month of December 2009.
Despite this targeting of Yemen, the government there is moving cautiously in its fight against internal opposition movements as well as its relationship with the Obama administration. In an Associated Press article published on January 11, it states that “Yemen is moving cautiously in the fight against al-Qaida, worried over a potential backlash in a country where anger at the U.S. and extremism are widespread. Thousands of Yemenis are battle-hardened veterans of past holy wars in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq, and though most are not engaged in violence now, they preserve a die-hard al-Qaida ideology.”
Although the corporate media characterizes any anti-imperialist resistance movement operating in a predominantly Muslim country as affiliates of al-Qaida, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies know that the struggle against U.S. dominance is far broader than one particular organization. For example in Somalia, which is right across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, the U.S. has attempted to link the resistance forces to Islamic extremism despite the fact that both of the leading organizations fighting the imperialist-backed Transitional Federal Government are rooted firmly within the population of the Horn of Africa nation.
According to Ali Mohammed Omar, a Yemeni veteran of the Afghanistan struggle during the early 1990s, “Any movement against al-Qaida will lead to the fall of the Yemeni regime. If the U.S. or its allies become directly involved, the whole people will become al-Qaida.” Instead of 30 or 40 people, it would become millions.” (Associated Press, Jan. 11)
As a result of this delicate political situation, the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has indicated his willingness to open up dialogue with opposition forces including al-Qaida. “Dialogue is the best way…even with al-Qaida, if they set aside their weapons and return to reason,” Saleh told journalists in an interview with Abu Dhabi TV on January 9.
Meanwhile in the West African state of Nigeria where Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was born, as a result of the targeting of its citizens for scrutiny at U.S. airports and on flights bound for the country, the nature of relations with the Obama administration has been a subject of intense debate.
An article in the January 11 issue of the Nigerian Guardian examined the impact of the U.S. labeling of the oil-rich state as a “high-risk country.” The Guardian said that “In a statement signed by the Senate’s spokesman, Ayogu Eze, yesterday, the Upper Legislative Chamber denied media reports that it had given the U.S. a seven-day ultimatum to reverse the classification.” (Guardian, Jan. 11)
The article continues by quoting the statement issued by Nigerian Senator Eze in which he said that “At no point did the Senate give a seven-day ultimatum. What I said at the press briefing, and this is verifable from the bodies of the stories with the misleading headlines, was that we rejected the classification and demanded that our name be taken off that list.
“I followed up by stating that when the Senate resumes next week, it will engage all its diplomatic and legislative gears to bring about this reversal,” Senator Eze said.
At the same time U.S. Homeland Security officials have traveled to Nigeria to meet with the presidency and aviation officials. The meetings are being described as part of the ongoing U.S. investigation into Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
In addition, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, was due to arrive in Nigeria the week of January 11. According to Nigeria Next newspaper, “Mr. Carson’s proposed visit to Nigeria is aimed at carrying out a broad spectrum feel of the political tempature in light of the succession politics now frantically apace in Abuja. The U.S. diplomat is also expected to seek reasons for the delay in debating the anti-terrorism bill that has been with the National Assembly for the past four years.” (Nigeria Next, January 11)
A working class perspective on the current crisis in U.S.-Nigerian relations was put forward by Ayo Ademiluyi in the Daily Trust newspaper when the author stated that “The United States, particularly its chauvinistic ruling class, is today’s crisis-enguled imperialist state, waging its big-business motivated wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other trouble spots in the world. It will take no time in sending its crack state security teams to Nigeria, its third largest supplier of oil, to dislodge fundamentalist groups and militants, just to protect its interests.” (Nigeria Daily Trust, Jan. 11)
The fact that President Umaru Yar’Adua is currently in Saudi Arabia undergoing medical treatment and the transnational oil firms are seeking ways to retaliate against Nigeria for the signing of a $50 billion oil deal with the People’s Republic of China, this African state, with the continent’s largest population, is quite concerned about the ongoing efforts of the United States to dominant the economic and political landscape of the country.
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