Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — The trial of alleged Hizbullah operatives has highlighted
growing security cooperation between Israel and Nigeria.

A trial in Nigeria has released information on an Israeli intelligence
presence in the African country.

The trial of two Lebanese alleged to work for Hizbullah included testimony that pointed to close ties between Israel’s Mossad and Nigeria’s intelligence community.

In testimony on Aug. 5, one of the defendants, Mustafa Fawaz, said he was arrested in Abuja on May 11 and told that he would be interviewed by “some Europeans.” Fawaz told the Nigerian court that he was interrogated and beaten by six purported Mossad agents for two weeks.

“I was interrogated in Arabic language and they asked me series of questions on Hizbullah and Lebanon,” Fawaz, accused of planning missile attacks on the Israeli presence in Nigeria, said. “They conducted
[polygraph] test on me. I asked to be interrogated in English, but they
refused. Most of them are weak in English. They are not Europeans, but
Israelis.”

Fawaz said the Mossad interrogators, one of whom confirmed that he
represented the spy agency, focused on Hizbullah operations in southern
Lebanon. He said he was pressed to reveal the location of Hizbullah weapons
storehouses and identify operations near the border with Israel.

“They asked me about my link with Hizbullah, but they concentrated more
on Lebanon — whether I knew if there are weapons stored in the south of
Lebanon or the identities of people who have been trained by Hizbullah,”
Fawaz said.

The second Lebanese defendant, Abdullah Thahini, also said he was
interrogated by the Mossad. He said the Israelis wore masks and did not come
under any supervision by Nigerians. The trial was adjourned to Sept. 30.

“They put a mask on me and asked me questions in Arabic,” Thahini said.
“I knew that they were Israelis from their accent.”

Diplomatic sources said Nigeria has given Israeli intelligence nearly
total access, particularly in monitoring the significant Hizbullah presence
in the African country. In return, they said, Israel has been training the
Nigerian military and security forces as well as protecting the nation’s
huge energy infrastructure.

  Abuja, Mossad, Nigerian security forces, Trial reveals close ties between Nigerian intelligence and Mossad on Hizbullah