Abuja (Nigeria), Jul 6: Prosecutors in Nigeria have charged two Nigerian men with being members of al-Qaida and recruiting new members to train in Yemen.
Olaniyi Lawal, 31, and Luqman Babatunde, 30, pleaded not guilty Thursday at a federal court in the capital Abuja.
A court document says they are accused of convening a meeting last June to “further the objective of the (al-Qaida) terrorist organization.”
It says Babatunde is accused of providing facilities for that meeting.
It says Lawal is accused of collecting the equivalent of about $6,000 from Al-Qaeda to take new members to Yemen “for combat training in terrorism.”
A radical Islamist sect held responsible for hundreds of deaths and rooted in northern Nigeria has reported ties to al-Qaida.
However, the two accused bear names from the country's south.
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