Nyanya Bomb Blast’s Mastermind Still On The Run – DSS

One of the alleged masterminds of the Nyanya bomb blast, Rufai Tsiga (alias Dr. Tsiga), is still on the run one year after the bombing that claimed the lives of more than 75 people.

Deputy Director, Information at the Department of State Services, Marylyn Ogar, disclosed this at a press briefing organised by the National Information Centre in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ogar said the case of the second suspect, Aminu Sadik Ogwuche, remained in the court.

She said, “Tsiga is still a wanted man. We still have to keep refreshing the memory of Nigerians. He is still a wanted person. If he has been arrested, we would have shown him to the public. As for the other case, it is still in court.”

Following the bomb blast in one of the suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory, a red alert was issued on both Ogwuche and Tsiga by the Interpol.

Apart from the red alert, a bounty of N25m was also placed on the head of Tsiga, who hails from Angwa Nas, Gida Maimai, in Tsiga town of Katsina State.

An Interpol red alert is an international request for cooperation. It is usually issued by the Interpol General Secretariat at the instance of the national bureau of any of the member states. In this case, it was issued at the instance of the Nigerian National Bureau of Interpol.

Interpol red alert operates as an international warrant of arrest and consequently, it mandates security forces in its current 190 member states to join in the search and possible arrest of a fugitive that is so sighted in the Interpol radius.

DSS had implicated Tsiga, who was said to run a ‘clinic’ (drug shop), a façade that was alleged to be used by the suspected terrorists to plot their strategy.

While the red alert issued by Interpol had been instrumental to the arrest and repatriation of Ogwuche (now facing trial) from Sudan, nothing has been heard about Tsiga.

Speaking at the press conference, Director General of the National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, who coordinates the National Information Centre, said the Federal Government remained committed to finding the more than 200 girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, on the same day that the Nyanya bomb blast occurred.

He said, “On April 14, 2014, the nation woke up to the tragic incident of the first Nyanya bombing and the abduction of over 200 students of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, by the Boko Haram terrorists.

“Yesterday (Tuesday) marked one year of the horrific occurrences which were a tragedy and an experience that every Nigerian painfully shares alongside the immediate families of the victims, the people of Chibok and the international community.

“The Federal Government remains resolute in finding and returning them to their homes where they rightly belong. Consequently, we will continue to exert all efforts in ensuring their safe return.”

Source:
Punch Newspaper