{"id":5571,"date":"2013-06-26T20:25:35","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T20:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/3-hezbollah-linked-lebanese-charged-with-terrorism\/"},"modified":"2013-06-26T20:25:35","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T20:25:35","slug":"3-hezbollah-linked-lebanese-charged-with-terrorism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/3-hezbollah-linked-lebanese-charged-with-terrorism\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Hezbollah-linked Lebanese charged with terrorism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nigeria on Wednesday charged three Lebanese allegedly linked to the militant Shiite movement Hezbollah with terrorism related offences.<\/p>\n

Five Lebanese nationals were implicated last month after a huge cache of arms and ammunition was found in their premises in the northern city of Kano and the capital Abuja.<\/p>\n

\"Lebanese <\/p>\n

Lebanese terror suspects: now charged with terrorism<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Three of them — Mustapha Fawaz, aged 49, Abdallah Thahini, 48 and Talal Ahmad Roda, 51 — were hit with a six-count charge of terrorism, while a fourth suspect was freed and the fifth was said to be on the run.<\/p>\n

The three were also said to hold Nigerian citizenship.<\/p>\n

Court papers said they “professed to belong to Hezbollah military wing, an international terrorist organisation, and you thereby committed an offence…”<\/p>\n

The trio were accused of conspiracy “to receive training in preparation to engage in the commission of a terrorist act.”<\/p>\n

The suspects were also alleged to have “directly rendered support to a terrorist group” by providing in their premises “weapons for terrorist activities.”<\/p>\n

They were accused of permitting “a meeting connected with act of terrorism to be held” at their premises, an upscale supermarket and amusement resort in Abuja.<\/p>\n

Thahini was said to be the coordinator of Hezbollah in Nigeria as well as a conduit to transfer funds for its operation.<\/p>\n

The suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges and the judge ordered that they be remanded in custody until the next hearing on July 8.<\/p>\n

Defence lawyer Ahmed Raji said Nigeria would not be able to sustain the charges of belonging to a terrorist group since there has not been a formal declaration of Hezbollah as a terrorist sect by the government.<\/p>\n

Last month, Nigeria’s security services discovered a home in Kano where weapons they claimed were intended to attack Israeli and Western targets in Nigeria were kept.<\/p>\n

Further searches also revealed more weapons in another property owned by the Lebanese in Abuja.<\/p>\n

Nigeria is confronting an insurgency waged by radical Islamist group Boko Haram that has left thousands dead since 2009.<\/p>\n

Observers see Boko Haram primarily as a domestic group that has possibly sought closer ties to Al-Qaeda’s west Africa franchise.<\/p>\n

Nigeria is home to a sizeable Lebanese population, including in the mainly Muslim north.<\/p>\n

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