of two major ongoing businesses in the nation's
capital as a ring leader in a major terrorist
operation in the country.
In a statement by the spokesman of the Joint Task
Force in Kano, Ikedichi Iweha, Fauzi Fawad, the
co-owner of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland
Amusement Park, was named as a member of a
Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist cell in Nigeria.
Wonderland is Abuja's biggest and most popular
amusement park, while Amigo is one of the largest
supermarkets in the Nigerian capital.
The JTF said Mr. Fawad's name was mentioned by
"all those arrested," for being in possession of
heavy weapons, and other terrorism related
activities.
Mr. Fawad is now on the run, the JTF said.
The JTF said it arrested three Lebanese suspected
of owning the large cache of arms recovered at a
bunker in the city.
The Brigade Commander, 3rd Brigade, Nigerian
Army, Iliyasu Abba, said one of the suspects was
arrested on Tuesday at a house on Gaya Road in
Bompai area of Kano.
He said another suspect was arrested in Abuja
while the third suspect was apprehended since
May 16, at Aminu Kano International Airport, on
his way to Beirut, Lebanon.
"The one arrested at Malam Aminu Kano
International Airport had a sum of 60,000 US
dollars in his possession".
He said one Abdullahi Hassan Tahir Padalla, who
was the owner of the house in which one of the
suspect was arrested was still at large.
Mr. Abba said among the weapons discovered
during the operation on Tuesday were 17 AK 47
rifles, 44 magazines, four land mines and 12 RPG
bombs, 14 RPG charger, 11 66 mm anti-tanks
weapons, one SMG magazine, one pistol and
magazine.
Also, 11, 433 rounds of 7.26 mm special, 76 hand
grenade, rocket propelled guns, 122 calibre artillery
and anti mines weapons were recovered.
"What you are seeing here are weapons of mass
destruction in terms of our situation here right
now in Nigerian.
"If these things have been brought out only God
knows the type of destruction they will cause to
innocent persons in the state or in the country,'' he
said.
He said the Department of State Security Service
(SSS) in Abuja had been investigating the case for
long.
In a remark, the state Director of the SSS, Bassey
Ettang, said that the three suspects had a link to
the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
He said the suspects have for a long time been
using the bunker in the house to stockpile arms
and ammunition.
He restated the commitment of the SSS and other
security agencies to continue with the ongoing war
on criminals nationwide.
Read the full military statement implicating the
Abuja businessman below:
See full text of Press Release:
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.
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