Sources added that he was regarded as one of the most valuable assets of the Boko Haram terrorists’ sect.
Offon Khalid al-Barnawi, Ansaru factional leader who bombed the United Nations Headquarters, Abuja, has been revealed as one of the 64 Boko Haram inmates set free by terrorists from the Kuje Prison on Tuesday.
The Ansaru leader, factional Islamic terrorists, Khalid al-Barnawi, who masterminded the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Abuja in 2011, was among the inmates which the terrorists released.
Recall that the attack at UN Headquarters and ThisDay Newspapers claimed no fewer than 18 lives while several others persons got injured.
Al-Barnawi, who trained by the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Algeria, may have coordinated the Kuje jailbreak from his prison cell, as he is rated very high in terms of his IQ and organisational capability.
Sources added that he was regarded as one of the most valuable assets of the Boko Haram terrorists’ sect.
The sources who sought anonymity because they did not have permission to speak on the matter told People’s Gazette that the jailbreak was most likely engineered to set Mr Al-Barnawi free, given his doggedness and commitment to carry out Boko Haram assignments before his incarceration in 2016.
As a commander, he was notorious for executing other commanders who failed to meet their operational targets, sealing his reputation as a leader who accepted no excuses even from his equals.[story_link align="left"]111476[/story_link]
Al-Barnawi goes by many aliases, including Abu Hafsat, Mallam Dauda, Alhaji Tanimu Kafuri, Naziru, Alhaji Yahaya, Muhammad Usman and Mohammed Usman, to avoid detection while conducting his criminal operations.
Arrested five years after the UN bombing, the nation’s State Security Service (SSS) in April 2016 described Al-Barnawi’s capture as “a major milestone in the counterterrorism fight of this service.”
On June 21, 2012, the U.S. Department of State designated Khalid al-Barnawi a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224 on June 21, 2012. Other terrorists designated are; Abubakar Shekau and Abubakar Adam Kambar.
The release of Al-Barnawi may signal a significant increase in Boko Haram terrorist activities in Nigeria.
The U.S. government has already issued a security alert to citizens resident in Abuja and environs to be cautious.[story_link align="left"]111456[/story_link]
The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, had on Wednesday said the 64 Boko Haram suspects who escaped from the Kuje Prison after the Tuesday’s night attack were still at large.