Nigeria clears 3 Lebanese nationals over terrorism charges

Three Lebanese nationals suspected of being Hezbollah members were cleared of terrorism charges in Nigeria on Friday.

Nigerian Federal High Court Judge Adeniyi Adetokunbo Ademola said that Hezbollah "is not considered as an international terrorist organization in Nigeria," and therefore membership in the said party is not a crime, adding there was no evidence the trio were planning an attack.

In June, Nigeria charged three Lebanese nationals purportedly linked to Hezbollah with terrorism related offenses.

This comes as five Lebanese nationals were implicated after a huge arms cache was found in their premises in Nigeria's Kano and Abuja.

Three of them identified as Mustapha Fawaz, 49, Abdallah Thahini, 48, and Talal Ahmad Roda, 51, were hit with a six-count charge of terrorism, while a fourth suspect was released and the fifth was allegedly under pursuit.

The three were also said to hold the Nigerian citizenship.

The suspects were accused of a plot and were also alleged to having "directly rendered support to a terrorist group" by providing "weapons for terrorist activities."