Nigerian investigators say that secret papers were sent to the military attaché of Russia’s Embassy in Nigeria.
Photo: AP
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Russian Spies Exposed in Africa
Nigerian authorities have reportedly exposed a spying network managed by Russian Embassy’s employees. Eight people, one of them Russian, have been charged with espionage for Russia.
A court session on an espionage case was held in Abuja on Tuesday. A Romanian, an Israeli, an Irish and three Nigerian employees of the country’s Defense Ministry were charged with espionage. The three foreigners are believed to have been involved in collusion with the three Nigerians to gain access to classified documents on a secret military object.
Nigerian investigators say that the papers were sent to the military attaché of Russia’s Embassy in Nigeria. The name of the person who was in charge of the spy network is not disclosed. Two more people suspected of espionage are on a wanted list – a Russian and an Irish national. The spy network worked in Nigeria for two years, prosecutors say.
The defendants, who are facing up to 14 years in prison, pleaded not guilty at the court session on Tuesday.
Russian officials declined to comment the news. They said, however, that the Russian who is wanted by Nigeria has nothing to do with the Russia embassy in the country and has never worked there.
Experts believe that news accusations of espionage result from stiff competition for Nigerian oil. Russia’s Zarubezhneft and LUKOIL are eager to make a move into Western Africa, a region that the United States currently controls. A scandal in Nigeria may be a new stage of the fight for strategically important zones in the world, analysts point out.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 12, 2006
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