The mastermind of April 14 Nyanya bomb blast, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, who was arrested in Sudan, dropped out of university in Britain, it emerged on Friday, fuelling concerns he may have been radicalised there.
Ogwuche, an Army deserter, who served in a Nigerian intelligence unit, was arrested in Sudan on Tuesday over the attacks that was claimed by the Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram.
Vanguard reports:
Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services, said this week that Ogwuche was “UK-born” after announcing he was still at large and alleging he co-masterminded the bombing.
But British officials say Ogwuche is not a British national.
It is understood the security services are looking into his activities during his time in Britain.
The University of South Wales confirmed Friday that he studied at the institution between 2007 and 2010, when it was known as the University of Glamorgan, but said he failed to complete his course.
WalesOnline, a Welsh news site, reported that Ogwuche was a member of the university’s debating society and wrote on an online professional profile that his goal was “to be a successful businessman”.
But it said the Business Science student had made increasingly radical postings on his Facebook page in 2010 and 2011, under a profile picture with the word “Asadullah”, meaning “Lion of God”.
The university told the site in a statement: “Aminu Ogwuche was a student at the former University of Glamorgan between 2007 and 2010 but didn’t go on to complete his studies at the university”.
It said the institution was “surprised” to hear of his alleged involvement with Boko Haram, saying: “There were no reported indications of extremist behaviour during his time as a student.
“There has been no contact between Mr Ogwuche and the University following his departure in 2010.”
