The co-owner of Amigo Supermarket, Mustapha Fawaz, and three other Lebanese – Abdalah Tahini, Talal Rouda and Khosai Nouridine – arrested in connection with the armoury and Hezbollah terror cell in Bompai, Kano State, are terrorists, according to the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has filed six counts of terrorism against the Lebanese suspects before an Abuja Federal High Court.
The suit was filed on Thursday, June 20, 2013, but no date has been fixed for the arraignment of the suspects.
This emerged on Friday in the course of hearing an application filed by the Lebanese before an Abuja FHC to challenge their arrest and detention.
The Lebanese joined the State Security Service, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as defendants in the suit in which they demanded N50bn compensation, as well as an order restraining the Federal Government from extraditing them without following the due process.
In their response to a counter-affidavit in which the SSS opposed their application for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights, the suspects had claimed that Hezbollah was not a terrorist organisation.
They maintained that the group was a lawful political party in Lebanon, and, in a bid to drive home their argument that it was a harmless organisation, attached a picture which purportedly showed President Goodluck Jonathan shaking hands with a Lebanese, who they claimed was a ranking Hezbollah official.
The suspects also claimed that the prohibited firearms discovered in Fawaz's residences at Wonderland Amusement Park, Abuja, and 58 Adetokumbo Ademola Street, Wuse 2, Abuja, were meant for hunting.
Counsel to the SSS, Mr. Cliff Osagie, opposed the application filed by the Lebanese, and advanced reasons why the security agency should continue to hold onto the suspects.
Disputing the Lebanese's claims that their continued detention in SSS custody was unlawful, Osagie informed the court that, following the withdrawal of an initial charge filed against the suspects before a Chief Magistrate's Court in Karu, a town on the outskirts of Abuja, the Federal Government had filed a fresh terrorism-related charge against them before the Abuja FHC.
Reacting to the photograph attached by the Lebanese in their affidavit, Osagie said, "The applicants (suspects) went and attached pictures of somebody who they said is a member of the Hezbollah (political party) shaking hands with Mr. President and claimed that Mr. President was aware that he is a Hezbollah member.
"If they were good enough to attach the pictures, they should also have been good enough to attach the register of the membership of Hezbollah, which they said is a political party."
The SSS counsel insisted that the Lebanese are terrorists, stressing that the Federal Government did not accuse them of being members of Hezbollah; rather, he said they were accused of being members of the Hezbollah military wing, a terrorist organisation.
He also asked the court to discountenance the suspects' claim that the weapons were meant for hunting.
The SSS lawyer told the court that the activities of the Lebanese suspects threatened the security and wellbeing of Nigeria.
He urged the court to dismiss the application.
Justice Ademola adjourned the matter till Monday, June 24, 2013, for continuation of argument.
The Punch