Who Sent Anthrax to Zadox
By
Wada Nas
On 5th December 2001, plain clothes police men, from the Plateau State CID picked Mallam Abdulkarim Albashir, from his Kaduna residence and later took him to Jos, on suspicion that he dispatched a parcel to one Asaph Zadok containing suspected anthrax. Albashir is a well-known Kaduna based journalist and commentator on national and international issues. He was taken to Jos along with two female staff of UPS, Kaduna office, who handled the parcel containing a booklet authored by him and dispatched to Zadok in Jos.
Like a good newspaper, Daily Trust, who first broke the news of Albashir’s arrest, followed up developments culminating in the cover that appeared in the Weekly Trust of Dec. 14-20, 2001.
In the interview he granted the paper, Albashir denied ever knowing the where about of Zodok since they parted ways in 1986, stating that he was not even aware that he was residing in Jos and so couldn’t have sent him any parcel. In an earlier interview with the paper, Zadok himself confirmed this.
Dr A.S. Mohammed, who delivered through UPS, the parcel containing Albashir’s booklet to Zadok in Jos also denied ever knowing Zadok, let alone to have any reason to implicate him. Dr Mohammed is the head of department of political science ABU Zaria. It is reasonable to expect him not to have any reason whatsoever to harm a person whom he doesn’t know. As he told the paper, he got Zadok’s address through ACF record of attendance book.
According to Dr Mohammed, over 5000 of copies of the Albashir’s booklet were distributed nationwide and no other person reported anthrax except Zadok.
This is very serious and interesting. Why would either Albashir or Mohammed single out Zadok for biowarfare attack, when, according to the latter, the booklet was sent to him with the purpose that he will give it wider publicity and in consideration of his activities as the secretary general of the APC. The booklet was sent to all ministers, including the person whose policies were attacked there in, i.e the minister of education, legislators, the presidency and governors among several other prominent Nigerians. I received my own copy too, when the author personally delivered them to me at home. The question now is, if the minister, whose policies were attacked in the booklet did not report of anthrax, in his own parcel, why put anthrax in the parcel of the very person whose assistance was being sought to support and spread the message of the book? Logically if any person is to be supplied with anthrax, it would have been to the person whose policies are being questioned by the author and not to one whose support was being sought to give wider publicity to the contents of the booklet. This is the obvious logic.
Dr Mohammed further said that Albashir’s name and address, plus his own name, were all clearly written on the package sent to Zadok through UPS for which payments were paid and receipt received. Would some body who would wish to harm a person, with anthrax, or whatever, provide exact information about his identity such that the police could easily pick him? To this day in America, where this anthrax hoax and scare started, nobody has been able to identify the source of supply or even the actual envelope containing it. Albashir, therefore, will go down in history as the first person, worldwide, to have left his flank opened, for easy identification, in sending anthrax to cause harm to a person he hasn’t known his where about since 1986. The point here is that if indeed there were anthrax in the package sent to Zadok by either Albashir or Mohammed, would they have left their traces uncovered? Would they have done it openly so that they could be easy targets for the police or any other person who wants to take revenge?
The UPS branch manager in Kaduna, Mr.. Victor Akpeama said that it took one month of the delivery of the parcel to Zadok, by his office in Jos, before the anthrax discovery was made known to his office. What then happened between the period of delivery to Zadok and the period the anthrax was discovered in the parcel? This is a key material point in this matter. Did it take Zadok one month to open his parcel? If not, where was the parcel laying between the period he received it and the time he opened it and whether or not it was in a secured custody all this time? Again, this is a very material point that can’t be brushed aside.
The UPS branch manager further said that if indeed there was anthrax in the parcel sent to Zadok, then his two female staff who examined the contents thoroughly before package and delivery to the addressee would have caught the disease. So far they haven’t. Yet VRI Vom said that they indeed found anthrax though they were yet to determine which. We shall return to that shortly.
Who, then, packaged anthrax into Zadok’s package, since it is clear, by the testimony of the UPS manager, that had his staff put anthrax in the package, and they were the last to handle it, they would have caught the disease immediately on contact, since it was dispatched on 29/10/2001, while the report was made one month after.
While the minister for health, Prof. ABC Nwosu was saying as recently as 29/11/2001 (see trust), one month after Zadok received his supposed anthrax package, that there was no outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, the director VRI Vom Dr Lam Lombin, was telling journalists that the test carried out on the supposed anthrax sent to Zadok proved positive, but she however quickly added, “we have not gone deep into virulence to determine whether it is virulence A or B.., as to the person involved we don’t even know him, so WE HAVE NOT EVEN REPORT (ED) TO ANY PERSON THAT WE GOT ANTHRAX IN HIS CASE AT ALL. (emphasis mine). We got some specimen and we carried out the research, that is all.” This is the director of VRI denying ever making statement to anybody on Zadok’s anthrax case. Now, let us resolve one riddle. While Dr Lombai was telling journalists, as carried in the Weekly Trust of 14/10/2001, that they have not reported their findings to anybody, at all, concerning Zadok’s anthrax case, he, Zadok, was telling the Daily Trust 10/12/2001, that the confirmation came via the VRI, which subjected the “exhibit” to laboratory tests.” How did he know, when report of the exhibit was not made to anybody “at all”, as stated by the director of VRI Vom, and also when the nature of the anthrax has not been finally determined? Here is a situation where findings have not been concluded and results yet to be made known by those charged with the responsibility of doing so, yet some interested party is confirming results of findings which have never been communicated to anybody officially or otherwise. How did Zadok and the police came about the findings from VRI Vom when the director is telling the world, as at 14/12/2001 that they have not made their findings known TO ANY PERSON- AT ALL. How come the police arrested UPS Jos staff on or around 30/11/2001 and Albashir and others, on 05/12/2001, for alleged involvement in anthrax delivery to Zadok at a time when the director of VRI, to whom the supposed anthrax package was sent for verification, was saying as at 14/12/2001, that they have not sent their report to anybody, and also that final findings have not been determined yet. Was Zadok and the police jumping to conclusion before the submission of final report, which, as at the time of writing, 14/12/2001, VRI has not finalized its analysis and so nobody was informed of its preliminary findings? How come Zadok was making claims such that the police arrested some UPS staff about the end of Nov and Albashir on 5/12/2001 when up to 14/12/2001 no official report was received about the supposed anthrax sent to Zadok? Could Dr Mohammed be right in saying that somebody somewhere wants to frame up himself and Albashir? He, Dr Mohammed, too is being invited and has reported to the police after the sallah break and this is happening without any formal report made to them or the nature of the alleged anthrax matter.
Meanwhile, when was the package containing the alleged anthrax sent and received by VRI? Was it opened or sealed? And if opened, was it done in its (VRI) presence? Who submitted the substance and in what form and condition? From all indications, Zadok was he who opened the parcel containing the suspected anthrax and the parcel sent to VRI was opened before they received it, or at least the suspected substance was sent not in the original form it was in the UPS parcel. There was tempering of the parcel before VRI received the substance. Who did the tempering? Secondly, how is VRI Vom legally sure that the substance it received was the one contained in the original package sent to Zadok through UPS by Mohammed? What reasons have VRI not to believe that somebody could infact and in point alter or change the contents of the substance since the original package was never delivered to it in sealed form, as Zadok testified to opening it first before making the submission for analysis? These questions are very vital not only for logical deduction, but for legal purposes. Zadok and the police were acting on an information not officially released. Why?
UPS manager has confirmed that the materials brought for delivery by Dr Mohammed to Zadok in Jos contained nothing but Albashir’s booklet. He has also told the world that had there been anthrax inside the booklet, which Zadok claimed attacked him immediately he opened the parcel, allegedly containing it, then the UPS staff who parceled it would have been attacked first by the disease. Since this was not the case, it is logical and reasonable to assume that the parcel they dispatched must have caught the anthrax AFTER it had left UPS Kaduna and indeed Jos, for Zadok admitted opening it himself sealed. He received it sealed on delivery and as packaged at Kaduna. So, it is reasonable to assume that the anthrax got into the package after Zadok received it, since the UPS staff who last handled it after delivery by Dr Mohammed confirmed that they only sent the Albashir’s booklet, and going by the sound logic of their manager, had there been anthrax inside they could have caught it by now. So , since this never happened, they never delivered any package to Zadok containing anthrax and so if there was anthrax in the package as claimed by him, then it must have got in AFTER delivery by UPS Jos office to Zadok, but certainly not before. It is here proper investigation as to who sent Zadok anthrax ought to start.
Who then put anthrax into his package? Zadok had told the Daily Trust that he was the one who opened the envelope sent to him by Mohammed through UPS. What happened thereafter is left to the imagination, particularly when seen against the evidence of the Director of VRI that they were yet to submit their report to any body since, in any case, they have not ‘gone deep’ into their analysis to determine whether what they discovered so far is anthrax A or B.
We are back to material question asked earlier. Zadok was he who first opened this envelope. He hasn’t told us when. However the UPS manager said they were contacted one month after delivery, when his staff were picked up. If the authorities of Vom received the anthrax package either from Zadok, the police or whoever, opened it in the absence of Albashir, Mohammed and UPS staff, what is its (content) material substance in law
Given, again, the testimonies of Vom and the UPS manager, couldn’t there be a possible connivance with intent to frame up, given, again, the added manner the package was handled AFTER Zadok received it?
Anybody who knows Albashir and Mohammed would testify that there is no way they could be associated with anthrax or such dangerous scheming, not even against their enemies, if they have any, let alone against a person they don’t know. Why would the UPS staff wish to harm Zadok, who also they don’t know? Nor could we understand why only Zadok’s package, out of 5000, contained anthrax, granted the anthrax was actually from the package as originally packed by UPS Kaduna? Why Zadok, out of 5000 others who received similar pamphlets?
Motives are important in determining crime and the reason for sending him a copy of the booklet, according to Mohammed was to solicit his assistance to give wide publicity to its contents. So, he was seen therefore, as comrade and a friend who would assist. Why then would some one wish to destroy a person he is seeking assistance from?
This anthrax matter is very important not only on its
historical context but more for its security content as well. To the best of our
knowledge, Albashir is the first material suspect to be arrested in the world
since September 11, if not before, and certainly the first in the history of
Nigeria, and Zadok also the first to be sent anthrax to by persons whose
addresses are known.
Though VRI Vom said that it has not determined the
nature of the anthrax containd in Zadok’s package, if it turns out to be true
that it is a biowarfare anthrax (and not animal anthrax) how did it come into
the country and for what purpose? From all indications, biowarfare anthrax (as
distinct from animal anthrax) which experts say is common, is not a product any
person could buy off the shelf. Who then ordered for its manufacture and its
importation into the country? These are very vital questions that should be
resolved in the wake of this anthrax scare. There is high objective logic to
suspect that the Albashir’s anthrax hoax is not without motive. This is why
the police must look in all directions in its search for truth in this matter.