The British face of Boko Haram: Man suspected of masterminding bomb attacks in Nigeria was radicalised in Glamorgan UK

Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche

A British-born man suspected of masterminding Boko Haram bomb attacks in Nigeria that left around 100 people dead became radicalised during his years at a Welsh university, it has been claimed.

Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche is believed to have led a double life in the UK as an aspiring businessman while preparing to die in the name of Allah. Ogwuche, who allegedly called himself the “Lion of God” and wrote increasingly extreme posts on social media during his later years in Britain, was arrested in Sudan this week on suspicion of organising the double blast.

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The Nigerian authorities are now seeking the extradition of Ogwuche for the bombings of a poor suburb of Abuja, which is home to people displaced by the government’s war against Boko Haram in the north of the country.

Ogwuche had previously been detained by authorities in Nigeria on his return to the country from the UK following a reported tip-off from British intelligence, but he was released after a campaign by human rights groups and his family.

He then fled across the border but was implicated in the double bombing in Abuja. The first blast took place on the same day that the schoolgirls were seized by Boko Haram fighters in Chibok, in the north-east of the country. He was only arrested this week after a chance spotting by a former classmate from his Nigerian military school who was in Sudan with a Nigerian military delegation, according to a source. Ogwuche is a former lance corporal in Nigerian military intelligence who reportedly deserted in 2006.

Former classmates in Wales spoke of their shock that Ogwuche had been alleged to be a terrorist mastermind after spending three years studying for a degree in business science at the University of Glamorgan – now the University of South Wales – from 2007 to 2010.

Ogwuche told fellow students that he used to be in the military back “home” in Nigeria and that his goal was to become a successful businessman. However, he failed to finish the course.

A former housemate told Wales Online that he had been serious but showed no signs of potential violent extremism. Anju Moro said: “He was very devout but then many people are. He would often just spend time in his room between going to and from prayers but he seemed harmless, if very serious. It is very creepy that he could have been having thoughts like that.”

During his time in Britain in 2010, his Facebook pages included comments expressing his willingness to die. The following year it read: “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, or they should be imprisoned.”

A spokeswoman for the University of South Wales said that there was “no evidence of any radical behaviour” while he was at the university. 

Ogwuche, the son of a retired army colonel, had recently been learning Arabic at the International University of Africa, in Sudan, according to reports from Africa.