Somalia: Fresh details emerge on missing NISA agent Ikran Tahlil

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The investigations into the circumstances leading to the disappearance of Ikran Tahlil may have hit a dead-end, The Dossier has established, in what could potentially pile more pressure on the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, who has been accused of "sabotaging" prosecutors.

The Dossier established that investigation into Ikran’s disappearance has stalled after the national intelligence agency [NISA] blocked investigations into the case by the military courts, a finding corroborated by two officials and a lawmaker.

To make it difficult for the military court prosecutors in following up on the matter, the intelligence agency said it had its own department which conducts investigations. Both the family and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble had preferred military prosecutors to the public inquest.

So thorny was the matter that it elicited sharp differences between PM Roble and President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, who was accused by the family of "sabotaging investigations". Some of the lead suspects to the disappearance including former NISA boss Fahad Yasin are close associates of Farmaajo.

In fact, the agency had released a statement two months after Ikran's disappearance, arguing that she was abducted and killed by Al-Shabaab. However, the militants dismissed the allegations, noting that "we don't abduct innocent people".

According to two sources and Ikran’s MP, NISA argued and told investigators that they will not allow an investigation from an external government agency. Ikran lived near NISA headquarters in Mogadishu. NISA said footage of the security camera on the day of the disappearance is not available.

Initially, footage obtained by Garowe Online showed a vehicle with registration numbers of the agency near Ikran's gate. Two men were sighted throwing her into the vehicle before driving off to an unknown destination.

According to The Dossier, investigators interviewed a housemaid, the landlord, and staffers at a nearby hotel. But the investigation hit a roadblock when court officials tried to interview the suspects named in the complaint filed by the family. As of now, investigators have not interviewed suspects.

In response, NISA said it has conducted its own internal investigation. According to sources, NISA handed the court a report comprising 38 pages including interviews with the two suspects named in the complaint filed by the family. NISA interviewed suspects without the investigator’s presence, an indication of possible biases.

Despite the allegations, NISA has denied blocking the investigation. NISA also confirmed the video footage on the day of Iran's disappearance is not available but gave a different explanation. It said the camera doesn’t work properly. “It’s a work in progress,” a senior intelligence officer claimed.

Who is Ikran Tahlil?

Ikran Tahlil was born in Mandera, North Eastern Kenya formerly known as Northern Frontier Districts [NFD] on August 24, 1996. She took her primary education in Mandera; attended Aga Khan High School, Nairobi; graduated from the United States International University [USIU] at the Nairobi with BA in International Relations.

In 2017, Ikran landed a job in NISA and worked at the director’s office. She held that job until Oct 2017 when she was promoted as director of the Human Rights Compliance Division at NISA. She liaised w AMISOM and the British Embassy in Mogadishu on security sector capacity building, the Dossier established.

From October 2018 until July 2019, she worked for the late Mayor of Mogadishu Engineer Abdirahman Omar Osman as Chief of Staff. Officials said the job was a secondment. When the Mayor was killed, she returned to the agency. The mayor was killed in Al-shabaab attack.

In 2019, she attended the University of Nottingham in the UK where she achieved a Certificate of Int’l Human Rights Law. In 2020 she attended King’s College London, taking a Postgraduate certificate in Int’l Affairs. NISA confirmed it was paying the course fee, living expenses while in the UK.

Some reports indicated that her disappearance had something to do with information on missing Somali soldiers who are training in Eritrea. The government had initially stayed mum about the soldiers despite complaints from their families, only to admit months later.

A report published by the Special UN Rapporteur in Eritrea confirmed that the Somali soldiers training in Eritrea crossed over to Tigray with Eritrean troops, where they assisted Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] in fighting both Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] and civilians.

GAROWE ONLINE