Nigeria Arrests Palestinian Community Leader Ten Days After Signing ‘Security’ Pact with Israel

Ramzy Ibrahim Abusafiah, the leader of the Palestinian community in Nigeria, has been reportedly arrested by suspected operatives of the Nigeria Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad.

The arrest, disclosed to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) by a source who asked not to be named, took place on Friday, August 22, and came 10 days after the Nigerian government, under the Bola Tinubu regime, signed a security pact with Israel, a pact which critics argued risks entangling Nigeria with Tel Aviv’s ongoing genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

According to the report, however, Abusafia was picked from his residence in Abuja by heavily armed operatives, with the source citing that he was detained in an undisclosed location based on an accusation related to terrorist activities.

FIJ quoted the source as saying:

They have not told us his (Abusafiah’s) offence. They just came to pick him up at his residence in Abuja,” adding, “As I am talking to you, we do not know where exactly he has been taken to. All we know at the moment is that he is in detention somewhere.

Furthermore, “The Palestinian Embassy in Nigeria has also not issued any statement on the incident. Nobody seems to know anything. All we know is that he is being accused of terrorism related activities. Everything seems strange and vague at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Abusafiah, known for his advocacy for peace in the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the annexation of the West Bank, is a Palestinian-Nigerian born on August 23, 1973, and has lived in the country for the past five decades.

As at the time of this publication, none of the Nigerian security agencies has issued any statement regarding Abusafiah’s arrest or whereabouts.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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