No Gaddafi men in Nigeria, says minister (Clueless minister)

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Sunday, September 25th, 2011

There is no confirmation that some Muammar Gaddafi loyalists have entered Nigeria from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Foreign Minister, Olugbenga Ashiru has said.

Ashiru told Nigerian reporters covering the 66th UN General Assembly in New York that speculations that Gaddafi’s men had entered some states in Nigeria were untrue.

“Our security agencies are on the alert and I can assure you that anybody who enters Nigeria will be promptly deported from wherever he or she came from,” the minister assured.

The minister also said he did not believe Gaddafi or any of his associates would seek asylum in Nigeria.

“I don’t believe that will happen, maybe they will prefer not to come to Nigeria for obvious reasons and I don’t think anyone should express that kind of anxiety,” the UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the minister as saying.

NAN reports that Niger, which borders Nigeria in the north, confirmed the presence of some senior Gaddafi officials and at least one member of his family in the country.

Nigerien authorities also confirmed that they were keeping one of Gaddafi’s sons, Saadi, under surveillance along with several others who fled to the country, including General Ali Kana, who commanded Gaddafi’s southern troops.

Interpol has issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son, Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, all wanted by the International Criminal Court for suspected crimes against humanity.

-Tribunewp_posts