Profile Of Ibrahim Uwais, Son Of Former Chief Justice Of Nigeria Who Allegedly Joined ISIS With His 2 Wives, 5 Kids

Ibrahim Uwais is considered the latest high profile Nigerian recruited or have volunteered for the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Ibrahim reportedly left Nigeria with his two wives and five children for Syria to join the ISIS which has been carrying out horrendous killings in a bid to create an Islamic state. ISIS presently controls large swathes of land in Iraq, Syria and Libya, where they have been brutal with their brand of jihad.

A family source confirmed that Ibrahim left Nigeria with his family early February “without a word”, keeping his extended family in the dark. “The fact that he didn’t say goodbye to both parents, and the deafening silence from his end since then, seems to lend credence to this storyline (that he has joined ISIS),” he said, adding that “we are just praying for news of them, news of any sorts”.

Security agencies believe that Ibrahim first left Nigeria for Dubai, then to Jordan, before he crossed into Syria. “That Ibrahim, his two wives and five children were able to make the snaky trips and ascertain the routes through which they could get to the section under the control of the terrorists unhurt is a pointer that ISIS already has a foothold in Nigeria,” a senior security source told Daily Times.

It was, however, learnt that Ibrahim did not embark on the journey with his large family at a go. “The wives and children left separately giving no hint that a plot was afoot. Then the father joined them,” the source said.

Ibrahim is the third son of Justice Mohammedu Lawal Uwais (rtd), former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Sources say he is the unlikeliest man to volunteer for the Islamic State because he claims to "hate everything Boko Haram stood for, and often queried why they would be killing innocent women and children in the name of Islam,”.

He was a student of King’s College, Lagos. A former student of Queen’s College, Lagos, told TheCable that Ibrahim “was very popular with QC girls in those days”. He proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU) Zaria to study Business Administration but subsequently dropped out of Ahmadu Bello University and went into full-time business in his early 20s. 

He is always heavily bearded, spotting trousers that were slightly above the ankles and was often seen proudly riding power bikes around Abuja.  More importantly, Ibrahim is a friend of the 2009 United States Christmas Day underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab. 

His father - Justice Uwais is believed to be a family friend of Umar’s father and former First Bank chairman, Alhaji Umaru Abdulmuttalab.

Like Umar Abdulmuttalab, his younger family friend, Ibrahim Uwais is believed to belong to the Islamic Salafi sect which has its roots in Saudi Arabia. The Salafi are of two types: the moderate and the extremist.

A security source told Daily Times on Thursday night that there were fears within his agency that Ibrahim belongs to the extremist group which encourages its faithful to die for their religion whenever the need for it arises. 

It was also learnt that Ibrahim is an out of control man and not on good terms with the family. “Like the senior Abdul Mutallab, Justice Uwais is a moderate Muslim,” a highly reliable security source told Daily Times on Thursday, adding that the family is in shock by the decision of Ibrahim to join the ISIS terrorists. “He severed relationship with his family long ago,” another source disclosed, describing the suspected ISIS new recruit as a “non-conformist.” 

Coordinator of the National Information Centre on the war against terrorism and Director- General of the National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, had recently raised an alarm that the children of highly placed Nigerians were being recruited by the ISIS. He disclosed that government agencies were collaborating with organisations and aggressively educating Nigerian youths on the dangers of jihad and radicalism. “We are aware that recruiters for ISIS from South Africa are seeking to recruit young vulnerable Nigerians via the social media. This was why we alerted Nigerians last week of this development. As we speak, I am attending a programme in Lagos where we are actively educating the youths on the dangers of radicalism and jihad in order to discourage them.

We are also teaching them on how to safely use the social media in order to help them detect fraudulent intentions,” Omeri said. At the age of 23, Abdul Muttalab confessed to and was convicted of attempting to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day, 2009. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed to have organised the attack with Abdulmutallab; they said they supplied him with the bomb and trained him. Connections to Al-Qaeda and Anwar al-Awlaki have been found, although the latter denied ordering the man to do the bombing.

Recall that Umar Abdulmutallab was convicted in a U.S. federal court of eight criminal counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people. On February 16, 2012, he was sentenced to 4 life terms plus 50 years without parole.

Sources:
Daily Times, TheCable