Nigeria Suspends Immigration Boss after Terrorist Assir gets Visa

Saturday, 22 August 2015

Nigeria Suspends Immigration Boss after Terrorist Assir gets Visa

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari suspended his head of immigration Friday, the government announced, with the department under investigation over the approval of a visa to the fugitive terrorist, Ahmad al-Assir, who launched the 2013 battle against the Lebanese army in Sidon’s Abra.
Ahmad al-Assir, wanted in Lebanon over deadly clashes with the army there, was arrested on Saturday as he tried to board a plane from the Middle Eastern nation to Nigeria via Cairo, and using a fake Palestinian passport with a valid visa.

Terrorist Ahmad al-Assir

"The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration service, Mr David Shikfu Parradang, has been suspended from office with immediate effect," Nigeria's interior ministry said in a statement.

News that Assir had received the green light to travel to Nigeria caused outrage in the west African nation, and made front page headlines.
The Nigerian government launched an investigation into the affair earlier this week, although it was unclear if Parradang was being held personally accountable.

Assir had been on the run since June 2013, when he and some supporters fought a deadly battle with the army outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

The army seized his headquarters after 48 hours of clashes that killed 18 soldiers, but Assir was able to escape with several of his followers.

He has continued to issue audio statements while on the run. In 2014, prosecutors sought the death sentences for Assir and 53 others, including singer-turned-fundamentalist Fadel Shaker.

They were accused of having formed armed groups that killed soldiers, and of having explosive materials, light and heavy weapons that they used against the army.