Three men linked to Hezbollah appear before court in Nigeria

Three Lebanese citizens accused of having links with Hezbollah appeared on Tuesday before court in Nigeria.

Two of the three accused men said that they were obliged to make false statements during the time they were arrested, adding that the Israeli Mossad interrogated them for 14 days.

One of the suspects, Mostapha Fawaz, said that the Nigerian court wants to make them "a lesson for any person thinking to carry out attacks in Nigeria and Africa."

For his part, defense lawyer Ahmad Raji said that there is no compelling evidence against the three accused men, adding that a sentence will be issued in the case when the judicial holiday ends in Nigeria next September.

Five Lebanese were accused two months ago after a huge cache of weapons was found in their premises in the city of Kano.

They were also accused of having links with Lebanese Hezbollah party and plotting to carry out terrorist attack in Nigeria.

Three of them -- Mostapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini, and Talal Ahmad Roda, were accused of charge of terrorism, while a fourth suspect was freed and the fifth was said to be on the run.

The three were also said to hold Nigerian citizenship.