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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Wednesday, August 19, made available an update on the case of a radical Islamic preacher who tried to flee to Nigeria using a fake passport.

It would be recalled that the news broke out over the weekend, when a fugitive terrorist, Ahmad al-Assir, who had been in hiding for two years, was detained in Lebanon when he was trying to leave the country.

Ahmad al-Assir

Nigerians were outraged by the fact that a criminal, tagged by some as “ISIS leader” in Lebanon, had managed to receive a Nigerian visa. The presidency reportedly ordered the investigation into the matter.

According to the MFA permanent secretary, Bulus Lolo, the investigation process has already started and the Lebanese authorities have already been contacted on the matter to ensure their cooperation.

Mr Bulu said he has commenced his own investigation process. He said he spoke to Nigeria's charge d’affairs in Lebanon and the later met with the Lebanese authorities.

He added that the charge d’affairs said the matter was being looked into but the facts that were emerging would suggest that what the media had reported was not entirely the true story. He pointed out that the accused person is of Palestine extraction and has resided for a very long time in Lebanon.

He said the accused person has residency in Lebanon, since Lebanon now grants full residency to Palestinian refugees. He suspected that this may be one of such individuals, but the fact that he did not use his true name is what is of interest to the Nigeria authority. The authorities are disturbed by the fact that the name he presented with the passport that was reported as Palestinian does not tally with what the Lebanese has as his name.

 A diplomatic report has it that al-Assir did not apply to the Nigerian embassy in Lebanon for visa, which means the document could have been forged. There are strong indications that Assir has been using the fake name, Rami Abdul Rahman Taleb, to evade detection by security agencies in Lebanon. He did not apply to the Nigerian embassy for visa, meaning that he must have forged the visa he had on his fake passport when he was arrested by authorities with his companion, Khaled Sidani, at the airport

Meanwhile presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, yesterday warned the public against linking Muhammadu Buhari with the controversy surrounding al-Assir. The investigation ordered by the presidency is set to involve the National Intelligence Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Office of National Security Adviser.

Staff members at the nation’s embassy in Lebanon have been queried on how things went wrong. The embassy has been mandated to submit a comprehensive report to the federal government within 72 hours.

The report is expected to cover how al-Assir applied for visa, the documents submitted, what he claimed as his mission to Nigeria, the procedure adopted in verifying his claims; whether or not there was any collaboration with security agencies in Nigeria; and the timeline for the issuance of the visa. The government is also interested to know if the ISIS chief was questioned on where he would stay in Nigeria, his host and the duration of his trip.