A group of African students under the aegis of African Students in Cyprus has raised the alarm over possible recruitment of young Nigerians, who travel to Iran into terrorism.
President of the students’ body, Jeremiah Omadachi, stated this in an electronic mail sent to our reporter in Abuja after a peaceful protest at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, against the activities of Iran in Nigeria.
According to him, there were indications that Nigerian students were getting military training provided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
He said: “As Africans living here in Cyprus, we have followed events in Nigeria and must confess that we have great concerns about the growing sectarian division there. The names of several sects are coming up in the daily accounts being rendered online but the name of Shiite sect; the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has remained constant.
“We are aware through contacts with other communities and nationals here that the cover that IMN and Iran use is to make youths pretend they are travelling to get education.
“The frightening reality however is that young Nigerians that travel to Iran end up being radicalised and indoctrinated into extremism. There has been indications that they are also getting military training provided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.”He called on the Federal Government to stop Nigerian youths from travelling to Iran to study.
Omadachi stated that Nigeria faces future security risk if it continued to allow youths to travel to countries where they end up being recruited into terrorism.
According to him, some youths who travel to Iran under the guise of studying were shipped off to other countries such as Yemen and Somalia, where they are recruited into terrorism.
The students warned Nigerian authorities and Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the threat of radicalisation posed by Ibrahim El-Zakzakky’s IMN was real and should not be taken for granted by the country, adding that Oguche and Abdul Mutalab’s cases should serve as examples.
He called on the government and other African leaders to do everything possible to prevent Iran from expanding the Middle East crisis to Africa by using IMN as a front.
According to him, the Islamic Republic must be told in very clear terms that it should sort out its problems with its regional neighbours and not attempt opening a new front in its war of attrition in Nigeria.
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