Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais has declined
to comment on the report by a US-based online news platform, THEWILL, that his
son had joined the terrorist group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Speaking with Vanguard over the phone on Wednesday, Uwais,
neither confirmed nor denied the report.
“I don’t want to comment on hearsay,” the former CJN told
Vanguard.
THEWILL, which has broken several sensitive news like the
arrest of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori by Interpol, reported that
the son of the retired judge, whose name it did not disclose, had joined ISIS
after moving from Nigeria with two of his wives and children in order to help
fight alongside ISIS, which presently controls large territories in Iraq, Syria
and Libya.
The online news service said that the intelligence report
came from Saudi Arabia, one of the over 50 countries alongside the United
Nations that has designated ISIS as a terrorist organization.
Sources told Vanguard that Justice Uwais had been told about
the development.
Boko Haram, which has been wreaking havoc in Nigeria’s north
east since 2009, is believed to be affiliated to ISIS. Recent intelligence
report by the National Information Centre had warned that there were plans by
ISIS to recruit Nigerian students studying abroad using social media.