I Was Never on US Terrorism Watch List, Buhari's Minister Declares
- Isa Pantami has faulted reports that he was associated with a terrorist organisation based in northeastern Nigeria
- The minister of communications and digital economy stated this in reaction to claims that he was placed on a terrorism watch list
- Pantami earlier claimed he had been at the forefront of the fight against insurgency through his preachings and debates
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The minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, on Monday, April 12, said he was never on a terrorism watchlist in the United States.
Pantami who faulted the claims stated that no intelligence organisation had associated him with any terrorist group.
Daily Trust reports that the minister made the disclosure in a letter signed by his legal counsel, Michael Numa Esq which was addressed to an online media outlet.
Source: Twitter
According to The Guardian, reports had emerged that Pantami had been placed on the list over alleged ties with a leader of Boko Haram and aiding their activities.
The report claimed that the minister was said to be a close confidant of the late Mohammed Yusuf, a former leader of Boko Haram.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the minister of communications and digital economy reacted to news of him being included in the United States' terrorism watchlist.
Although Pantami acknowledged that the newspaper had retracted the false report, he noted that it was a step that could have been avoided if the media house had done its proper investigation.
For the records, the minister explained that his teachings which have been on for more than a decade were against evil persons and criminals in Nigeria, adding that his life at a time was threatened following his debates on the subject of anti-terrorism.
In a related development, a presidential media aide, Bashir Ahmad reacted to reports that the minister of communications and digital economy is on the United States' watchlist.
An online newspaper in one of its posts claimed that Pantami, before his appointment, was a known Islamic preacher who propagated dangerous ideology against the American government.
However, in his tweet on Monday, April 12, Ahmad dismissed the claim as false, insisting that the local media house intentionally avoided verifying the facts and went ahead to mislead a lot of Nigerian readers.
Source: Legit.ng
