Members of Berende family of Ile
Eleran at Eruda tuntun, Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State, on
Friday, disowned a terror suspect, Abdullahi Berende, who claimed to be a
member of the family.
50-year-old Abdullahi and two others,
Sulaiman Saka and Saheed Adewunmi were accused by the State Security Service of
operating an Iranian terror cell and also gathering information about Isrealis
and Americans living in Nigeria.
When our correspondent visited the
Berende family on Friday, all the members of the family denied knowing the
suspect.
Two women, Mrs. Fumilayo Berende and
Mrs. Bilkis Berende, who said they were in their 70s, insisted there was no
such name in their family.
An elderly member of the family who
identified himself as Garuba, also denied knowing the terror suspect.
Garuba said, “We do not know anybody
by that name. We have many members of Berende family but none of them is
Abdullahi and none of them has been accused of any misconduct.”
The University of Ilorin, where
Berende claimed to be a master’s degree student did not confirm or deny
Berende’s claim.
UNILORIN’s Deputy Director, Corporate
Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun in an interview with our correspondent on
Friday, said the officials of the varsity were still cross-checking the records
to ascertain the suspect’s status.
“We cannot confirm whether
Berende is a registered student here or not. We are still checking our
records,” Akogun said.
Meanwhile the Chairman, Committee of
Muslim Organisation, Kwara State, Prof. Shehu Jimoh, has said the involvement
of Abdullahi in terrorist activities was condemnable.
He stated that Islam abhorred
terrorism and wondered why a Muslim scholar would engage in terrorism.
Jimoh said, “It is un-Islamic, unethical
and unfair to this country that any reasonable Muslim particularly from Ilorin,
would get involved in a terror act, whether he is being paid or not. This is
most unfortunate.
“I think the act should be
condemned in its totality. Kwara has enjoyed peace and anybody that will
contribute to insecurity in the country should be condemned.”
Abdullahi was paraded by the SSS
along Saka and Adewunmi on Wednesday by the Deputy Director, Public Relations,
SSS, Marilyn Ogar.
Abdullahi, a leader of the Shiite sect,
was accused of making suspicious trips to and fro Iran where he interacted with
some Iranians known to operate a high-profile international terrorist network.
Ogar said, “Berende confessed that he
was recruited by some Iranian elements when he returned to Iran for further
studies in 2011 and was subsequently trained in the use of AK47 assault rifle,
pistols, production and detonation of Improvised Explosive Devices and after he
returned to Nigeria, he was invited by his handlers at Dubai for further briefing
in April 2012. He was tasked to establish a terrorist cell in the South-Western
part of Nigeria with particular emphasis on Lagos.”
She added that the Iranian sponsors
requested Abdullahi to identify and gather intelligence on public places and
prominent hotels frequented by Israelis and Americans in Western Nigeria.
Abdullahi who was said to have
confessed to receiving money running into millions of naira had
allegedly relocated from Ilorin to Lagos to commence terrorist activities.
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