Mr Vincent Ezeugwu, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nsukka branch, has urged the U.S. government to reconsider its decision to include Nigeria on its watch list of 14 terrorist nations.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Wednesday that it was unfair for the U.S. government to punish 140 million Nigerians because of the recent attempted terrorist attack by a Nigerian suspect.
“Nigerians from all walks of life have already condemned the criminal attempt by Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up an American airline on Dec. 25, 2009 in Detroit. There is no basis including Nigeria on the U.S. terrorist watch list.
“The U.S. government should, in the interest of justice, de-list Nigeria from its terrorist watch list,” he said.
Ezeugwu explained that ” if it was true that the suspect’s father informed the U.S. embassy of the unruly behaviour of his son, It was a security lapse on the part of America to have allowed him access into the airport.
“If the embassy had circulated the information, the suspect would have been arrested before the unfortunate incident.”
Ezeugwu urged the Federal Government to explore every diplomatic avenue to ensure that Nigeria was removed from the terrorist watch list.
“We must recognise that both the U.S. and Nigeria enjoy cordial relations.They should not allow the singular action to create a misunderstanding between them,” he said.
