There were indications last night that former National Security Adviser, NSA, General Mohammed Aliyu Gusau (rtd); has links with the huge cache of arms stocked in an underground bunker in Kano which was busted by members of the Joint Task Force mid last week.
The JTF last Thursday explained how an underground bunker in which large cache of arms and ammunition, which was being operated by a foreign terrorist cell was busted in Kano two days earlier.
The spokesman, Lieutenant Ikedichi Iweha, disclosed this to journalists in a statement issued in Kano same day.
From the arrests made so far, security sources disclosed that Gusau’s link to the Hezbollah group is being investigated following tips by “those we have arrested.”
“We respect the former NSA highly. He is one man that has served this country in diverse capacities very well. But from statements made by the people we have arrested, we need to investigate more to be sure that no mistakes are made.
“One link we can really use to reach the conclusion is this Fawaz man that is on the run. His children that usually patronise a popular night club in Garki spending huge sums of money have suddenly disappeared from public radar;” said one source.
He added that “much progress is being made to arrest the run-away Lebanese businessman.
According to Iweha, “on May 28, 2013 a combined team of the JTF involving the Nigerian Army 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 Tahir 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 master bedroom where a large quantity of assorted weapons and calibre were recovered.
“The bunker was specially constructed for this purpose. It is worth mentioning to say that the weapons include weapons, rocket propelled guns, anti-tank/anti-personnel mines among other weapons.
“All the weapons and ammunition recovered were properly concealed with several layers of concrete and placed in coolers, drums and bags neatly wrapped.”
Maintaining that the discoveries were not accidental but the outcome of an ongoing robust counterterrorism investigation by the Department of the State Services Abuja in the past several months, Iweha stated that “the investigation also confirmed the existence of a Hezbollah foreign terrorist cell in Nigeria.
Consequently, the DSS on May 16, 2013 arrested one Mustapha Fawaz, the co-owner of the popular Amigo Supermarket as well as the Wonderland Amusement Park, all in Abuja.”
A number of arrests that started with an Abuja-based businessman on May 16 have been made with the military disclosing that the arrested suspects had confessed to have undergone Hezbollah training.
“The owner of this property is…a Lebanese national. Unfortunately, he is not even in Nigeria. There is somebody who is very prominent; he has property in Abuja….
“He was arrested by the SSS early this month,” he said.
“ There is also somebody…also a Lebanese national, who was arrested at the Malam Aminu Kano Airport, MAKIA on his way to (the Lebanese capital) Beirut.
“He was having the sum of $60,000 on him, which he did not declare. It was after he was arrested that the money was found on him during investigation,” they added.
Adding that Fawaz is now at large, Iweha said the arms and ammunition were targeted at facilities of Israel and Western interests in Nigeria.
“However, security agencies are making frantic efforts to unveil the true situation. At the end of investigation, all those involved will be prosecuted,” the JTF spokesman said in the statement.
Another security source who spoke to Nigerian Pilot on the matter, further added that the sealing of Abuja’s high profile superstore, Amigo Supermarket as well as top relaxation spot, Wonderland, also based in the federal capital city, was not just to track the co-owner who is said to be on the run, but to secure the places from any likely angst of the Nigerian public as well as for security reasons, “in case they have stocked either place with arms.”