MEN of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in Kano have arrested two accomplices of Lebanese terrorist Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir who obtained a visa at the Nigerian embassy in Beruit in August. 

In August, Sheikh Al-Assir was caught at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport as he tried to board a plane to Cairo enroute to Nigeria. On the run for the last two years, Sheikh Al-Assir was found carrying a forged Palestinian passport, in which he had a valid Nigerian visa. 

Embarrassed by the development, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered an immediate investigation into how a known and wanted terrorist managed to obtain a Nigerian visa. Diplomats indicated that Sheikh Al-Assir did not apply to the Nigerian embassy in Lebanon for a visa, adding that he must have forged the document, although he claimed to have been invited to Nigeria by a Middle Eastern company operating in the country. 

Yesterday, Martin Abeshi, the comptroller-general of immigration, said Sheikh Al Assir’s accomplices were nabbed in Kano and had been handed over to the national security adviser for further investigation. He added that they were arrested the moment the NIS learnt that the terrorist was coming to Nigeria on a visit. 

Mr Abeshi added that the NIS had prepared a document on border control and security management which would be presented to the federal government for approval and implementation.  Sheikh Al-Assir became one of the most wanted men in Lebanon after his militia fought the Lebanese army in the port city of Sidon in 2013, resulting in the deaths of 18 soldiers and dozens of his gunmen. 

According to Mr Abeshi, Nigeria's border control methods are archaic, adding that he planned to deploy sensors and security cameras across them. He added that walls may be erected at volatile border areas but building physical barriers along the nation’s expansive borders was not feasible.