NASCO Group, makers of Nasco biscuits and Nasco cornflakes has denied that its late founder Ahmed Nasreddin was a supporter and financier of Boko Haram or any other terrorist group in Nigeria or elsewhere.
In a rare one-page statement issued last night, the management of the usually quiet company described as “defamatory and slanderous contents,” circulating on online platforms to the effect that assets of NASCO group and its late founder had been used to support terrorist groups in Nigeria and elsewhere.
The company acknowledged that following the 2001 9/11 attacks, “thousands of people and entities around the world were subjected to various investigations. A detailed examination by the United Nations security council and the US government totally exonerated NASCO’s late founder Dr Ahmed Nasreddin and his business interest of all false allegations.
According to NASCO, “it was clearly established that NASCO was never at any time associated with the sponsorship of terrorism directly or indirectly anywhere in the world.”
The management of NASCO did not, however, say why it refrained from informing the Nigerian public after the company and its late founder had been investigated and cleared of the serious allegations as referenced in a United Nations security council resolution dated January 17, 2008.
Read also: Kidnapping: NYSC’s unsavoury advice on ransom payment
The statement noted that “a similar investigation was carried out by the National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria, where it also came to the same conclusion, thereby exonerating our late founder and NASCO group or any act or complicity in the sponsorship of terrorism in Nigeria or in any other country.”
As it was in the past, NASCO also did not issue a public statement at the time after it was investigated and cleared by the National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria.
NASCO said in their statement that it, “categorically affirm that it has never been associated with nor had business dealings with any of the persons mentioned” in the report circulating online.
The company described itself as “one of the leading companies in Nigeria, with an acknowledged legacy of working towards the economic growth and development of the nation, while positively impacting the lives of millions of people.
One report online titled “cornflakes for Jihad: the Boko Haram origin story” had insinuated that Nasreddin, an Eritrean who moved to Jos about 60 years ago in Nigeria to establish a conglomerate that has grown to a value of near $1bn, funded and supported militant and terrorist groups to the detriment of Nigeria directly and indirectly.
Other reports online had suggested that NASCO’s late founder had secretly financed terrorism while being close to governments in Nigeria. One report alleged that at a point NASCO sacked all Christian working in the organisation and replaced them with workers from Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, and other predominantly Muslim countries.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
