MOGADISHU, Somalia – A senior Somali intelligence officer leading the investigation into a recent assassination attempt on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was killed in Mogadishu under suspicious circumstances, with several of his colleagues now arrested in connection with the death, security sources said Friday.
The killing of the officer, identified as Captain Abukar Sidiiq of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), has sent shockwaves through Somalia’s security apparatus and raised fears of a high-level conspiracy to silence him.
Sidiiq’s body was discovered on Friday morning in the capital’s Hodan district, a day after he was killed. His death came just one day before he was scheduled to personally brief President Mohamud on the sensitive findings of his investigation.
The incident points to potentially dangerous infighting within the very agency tasked with protecting the nation against threats, most notably from the Al-Shabaab jihadist group.
A sensitive presidential probe
Captain Sidiiq was the lead investigator examining a deadly bombing that targeted President Mohamud’s convoy in Mogadishu earlier this year.
The brazen attack, which occurred on March 18 near the Ceel-gaabta intersection, killed at least 10 people, including seven soldiers, and wounded nearly 20 others. The president, who was reportedly travelling in an armored vehicle, was unharmed.
“He was scheduled to meet with President Hassan Sheikh on Saturday to share the details of his investigation,” a security source familiar with the matter told Caasimada Online. “His murder before that meeting is no coincidence.”
The investigation has been fraught with sensitivity, probing potential collaborators within the security forces who may have aided the attackers. Sidiiq’s killing is widely believed to be an attempt to derail that probe and conceal the information he had uncovered.
An operation gone wrong?
Details surrounding Sidiiq’s death suggest a coordinated plot. On Thursday night, he was dispatched as part of an NISA team to conduct a raid in the Siigaale neighborhood.
The official objective of the mission was to capture a suspected Al-Shabaab militant believed to be hiding in the area. According to preliminary reports, the team surrounded the target location. However, the suspect allegedly escaped after a brief exchange of fire. The unit then returned to its base, reporting the mission as a failure.
However, Sidiiq did not return with them. Civilians found his body in the same neighborhood on Friday morning.
“The other officers and soldiers who accompanied him on that mission have been arrested,” the security source confirmed. “NISA’s internal investigative department is now handling their interrogation.”
A nation on edge
The Federal Government of Somalia, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is serving his second non-consecutive term, has been engaged in a major offensive against Al-Shabaab. The Al-Qaeda-affiliated group has been fighting for over 15 years to overthrow the internationally-backed government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
While the group frequently carries out bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and across the country, the killing of a top investigator by his colleagues represents a different and potentially more destabilizing threat.
NISA is the frontline agency in the war against Al-Shabaab, but it has previously faced allegations of internal corruption and infiltration. This latest incident will fuel concerns about the integrity of the nation’s security architecture as it battles a persistent insurgency.
The internal investigation is now a top priority, as authorities seek to determine whether Sidiiq was killed by rogue officers acting on their own or on orders from higher up to stop his presidential briefing from ever happening.
The outcome could have profound implications for the stability of the Somali government and its ongoing fight against extremism.