Happenings

 Defendant Plotted a Terrorist Attack Targeting a Pittsburgh Church

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced yesterday to 208 months, more than 17 years, in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, aka ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 24, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty in the Western District of Pennsylvania on Sept. 16, 2021 to one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS in connection with his plan to attack a church in Pittsburgh.

“Alowemer admitted to planning a deadly bombing of a Pittsburgh church in the name of ISIS,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The National Security Division was created to protect the nation from terrorist threats and we remain vigilant against those who would plot violent attacks on U.S. soil in furtherance of an extreme ideology.”

“The defendant’s plan to bomb a Pittsburgh church and risk death or injury to residents in the area in the name of ISIS was thwarted by the extraordinary work of the Pittsburgh Joint Terrorism Task Force,” said U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “Our office will continue to hold accountable individuals who threaten the safety of our communities.”

“I want to commend the great work of our Joint Terrorism Task Force, and that of their partners and sources, in successfully thwarting a planned terrorist attack in the name of ISIS,” said Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Alowemer’s plan to conduct an attack at a church in Pittsburgh and inspire other ISIS supporters in the United States was unsuccessful thanks to the efforts of law enforcement officials at both the federal and state level. This sentencing demonstrates the commitment we share with our partners to pursuing justice against those who violate our laws and seek to harm innocents in our communities.”

According to court documents, Alowemer plotted to bomb a church located on the north side of Pittsburgh using an explosive device. His stated motivation to conduct such an attack was to support the cause of ISIS and to inspire other ISIS supporters in the United States to join together and commit similar acts in the name of ISIS. Alowemer also targeted the church, which he described as a “Nigerian Christian” church, to “take revenge for our [ISIS] brothers in Nigeria.” Alowemer was aware that numerous people in the proximity of the church could be killed by the explosion.

In furtherance of the plot to bomb the church, in May 2019, Alowemer distributed multiple instructional documents related to the construction and use of explosives and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to an individual Alowemer believed to be a fellow ISIS supporter, but who was in fact an FBI employee. Alowemer distributed these documents with the intent that the information be used in the assembly of a destructive device and in furtherance of conducting an attack in support of ISIS. In or around June 2019, Alowemer purchased several items, including nails and acetone (nail polish remover), with the belief that they were necessary to assemble a destructive device and with the intention they be used to construct the explosives that would be detonated in the vicinity of the church.

Between April 16 and June 11, Alowemer met four times in person with an FBI Undercover Employee (UCE) and/or an FBI Confidential Human Source (CHS). At the June 11 meeting with the UCE and CHS, Alowemer provided additional details about the bomb plot and provided the materials, including boxes of nails, he had purchased for construction of the device. Alowemer provided printed copies of detailed Google satellite maps, which included hand-written markings identifying the church and routes of arrival and escape. Alowemer also wrote and provided a 10-point handwritten plan outlining details related to his plot to personally deliver explosives in a backpack. Alowemer expressed a desire to meet one more time to conduct planning and coordination prior to carrying out the attempted bombing in July 2019. That meeting was later scheduled for June 19 in the Pittsburgh area, at which time Alowemer was arrested.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorneys Brenda Sue Thornton and S. Elisa Poteat of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force members who were directly involved in this investigation include: FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), IRS – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania State Police, Allegheny County Police Department, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Port Authority Police, Allegheny County Probation, University of Pittsburgh Police Department and UPMC Police Security.

Source-FBI

Members of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Riders And Owners Association(ACOMORAN) have been warned to shun the use of alcohol and illicit substances when on duty.

This warning was handed down by the association's chairman in Oyo state, Dr. Solomon Olugbode in a chat with People.

''Alcohol and drugs will only make you dull or make you over confident. That is why it is not proper to take alcohol or substances when you drive or cycle. It is dangerous to the health, members should avoid it,''Dr. Olugbode stated.

You have to be unique for you to make headway in your industry.

You must be creative and extraordinary to come out top in the competition.

Doing remarkable things in presentations and task delivery puts you ahead of others.

Ensure that the content of your problem solving is of the same standard as the best in the industry.

Always identify ways to be different.

Over time, young people in a crisis have been neglected and this has resulted in an increased rate of drug use, misuse and abuse, in addition to illicit substance intake.

Sadly, parents and guardians have been found wanting in the examination of behavioral defects in their children and wards, which have become pointers to drug or substance dependence.

Indeed, different parts of the country are presently in crises which have served as the catalysts for drug use, misuse and illicit substances and enlightenment on the dangers at the lowest ebb.

An unspecified number of youths have been manipulated to migrate to city centers; today they are now liabilities to society.

Note-

Several communities in Nigeria, particularly the South West geo-political zone, have been overwhelmed with strange faces. These strange faces intimidate, threaten and attack innocent citizens and residents just as illicit substances are now sold openly, as abnormalities are now the trend. Those who facilitated the heavy presence of those strange faces have continued to support their activities revolving around heinous and grievous crimes.

Mixed feelings have continued to trail the announcement by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele that the 200, 500 and 1, 000 Naira notes would be redesigned.

  A sizable number of Nigerians believe that the action of the apex bank has a hidden motive, considering the fact that the head was once a presidential aspirant of the ruling party. Others however argue that the action would sanitize the monetary system in the country. In this piece, Prof. Olagoke warns of the consequences. Excerpt :

To start with, the reasons given by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the redesigning of the 200, 500, and 1,000 Naira notes must be assessed and evaluated based on present realities. 

The word redesign becomes an issue because it would involve changes that may not likely go down well with our ethnic, tribal, and religious persuasions.

Since it had the approval of the presidency various considerations must have been put in place to allay the fears of Nigerians on the suspicion that the symbols might be tampered with. If not let the needful be done, rather than putting the cart before the horse. Indeed, Nigerians had expected these changes in 2015.

Sadly, it is coming at a time when the thoughts of Nigerians have been rumpled by several factors. However, it is better late than left undone because presently the focus of all Nigerians is the high rate of unemployment, hunger, poverty, and most important insecurity in the land.

The major question now is, this change in the design of the Naira shall it be very effective?

What would be the effects of this change in design on small and medium businesses? This is the time when the politicians are on top of their game with various antics to buy votes to attain juicy positions while taking advantage of the above-mentioned. The government ought to do the right thing for the overall benefit of Nigerians.

For you to be effective in any endeavor, depend on God for strength, wisdom, and power. 

John 15: 1-8

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

To start with, the reasons given by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the redesigning of the 200, 500, and 1,000 Naira notes must be assessed and evaluated based on present realities. 

The word redesign becomes an issue because it would involve changes that may not likely go down well with our ethnic, tribal, and religious persuasions.

Since it had the approval of the presidency various considerations must have been put in place to allay the fears of Nigerians on the suspicion that the symbols might be tampered with. If not let the needful be done, rather than putting the cart before the horse. Indeed, Nigerians had expected these changes in 2015. Sadly, it is coming at a time when the thoughts of Nigerians have been rumpled by several factors. However, it is better late than left undone because presently the focus of all Nigerians is the high rate of unemployment, hunger, poverty, and most important insecurity in the land. The major question now is, this change in the design of the Naira shall it be very effective? What would be the effects of this change in design on small and medium businesses? This is the time when the politicians are on top of their game with various antics to buy votes to attain juicy positions while taking advantage of the above-mentioned. The government ought to do the right thing for the overall benefit of Nigerians.

Your ability to take difficult decisions would go a long way in determining your survival in business.

There must be consistency in making decisions considered to be necessary, but unpopular and difficult, timely.

Decisions such as the shutting down of unproductive branches and the retrenchment of redundant staff should not be allowed to linger for so long.

Be observant, when you discover that any of your employee is not meeting up to the set standard, it is better to do the needful.

When you make hard decisions, wrong strategies, the wrong people and the wrong projects are put at bay.