The Dailymail reports that Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, the suspected mastermind of the Nyanya motorpark bombing was radicalized during his time in a university in the United Kingdom.
A leading figure in Islamist terror group Boko Haram was born in Britain and first radicalised at a Welsh university.
Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, 29, was arrested in Sudan this week on suspicion of killing more than 90 people in bomb attacks in Nigeria.
He will also be quizzed on what he knows about the more than 270 schoolgirls kidnapped and held hostage in the rainforest by Boko Haram.
It has now emerged that Ogwuche called himself ‘The Lion of God’ while at the University of Glamorgan, and threatened to chop off the hands and feet of Christians and atheists.
He began studying for a degree in business science in 2007 before dropping out three years later and his Facebook postings show how he became more extreme over time.
By 2011 he was writing: ‘The only punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is that they should be murdered, or crucified, or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides, or they should be imprisoned.’
Yesterday former friends expressed their shock at his alleged involvement in a terror group fast becoming one of the most feared in the world.
Ogwuche was caught in Sudan after a reward of £100,000 was offered for his capture over two bombings in the Nigerian capital Abuja last month.
He was born in Britain before joining the Nigerian Army, where he worked in an intelligence unit. Ogwuche deserted in 2006 – and then returned to Britain for his university studies.
Dutch student Mustafa Ja, who knew Ogwuche from when they met at the prayer room on campus, said yesterday: ‘I’m shocked. He didn’t seem to have any extremist views then – police officers would come and visit the prayer room regularly, so I don’t see how he could.’ And ex-housemate Anju Moro said he ‘seemed harmless, if very serious’.
On Facebook Ogwuche used as his profile picture an image of a lion along with the Arabic for ‘Lion of God’. He became a target for intelligence services when upon returning to Nigeria in November 2011 he was arrested at Abuja airport on terror-related charges.
After a campaign by human rights groups he was allowed to stay with his father, a retired army colonel.
The University of South Wales – formerly the University of Glamorgan – last night said: ‘There were no reported indications of extremist behaviour during his time as a student.’
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