33-Year Old Nigerian Man Charged To Court In US For Supporting Al Qaeda

A Nigerian, Lawal Babafemi, 33, was on
Friday arraigned  in a U.S. Federal
Court, on charges of providing material
support to al Qaeda and criminal use of
firearms.

Babafemi, who is also known as
“Ayatollah Mustapha’’, was arraigned on
a four-count charge of indictment,
conspiracy, providing material support
to AQAP, and use of firearms.
He allegedly provided the support to the
group in the Arabian Peninsula, the
terrorist organisation’s Yemen-based
affiliate.

Between January 2010 and August
2011, Babafemi travelled twice from
Nigeria to Yemen to train with leaders of
al Qaeda, known as AQAP.
According to the media, a statement by
U.S. prosecutors said that he helped
AQAP’s media operations, including the
publication of its magazine, called
“Inspire’’.

It said that the group’s leadership,
including Anwar al-Awlaki, paid
Babafemi almost $9,000 to recruit
English-speaking people from Nigeria.
A U.S. citizen born in New Mexico, was
killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in
2011.
Babafemi faces life in prison if convicted
on firearms charges and up to 15 years
in prison on the material support
charges.

The media also quoted a U.S. District
Judge, John Gleeson, as having ordered
that Babafemi to be held without bail. It
noted that in August, a Nigerian Court
granted a U.S. request for Babafemi’s
extradition.

In another statement, the U.S. Attorney
for the Eastern District of New York,
Loretta Lynch, said Babafemi supported
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s
media, recruitment, and weapons
training campaigns.

Lynch said the support was part of
effort to strengthen the terrorist group’s
grip on the region and extend its reach
throughout the world.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to
combat al Qaeda and other terrorist
groups in a manner consistent with our
laws,” Lynch said.