Former Dip Set affilaites and one time Roc-A-Fella artists S.A.S. have released a statement condeming the actions of 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who was arrested Friday after trying to set off explosives on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
As previously reported, the Nigerian terrorist allegedly has ties to al-Quaida. The London based MCs who are originally from Nigeria stated:
“We (S.A.S) deem it appropriate that we reach out to our American counterparts to say we as Nigerians disapprove of the acts of our countryman Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, in the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Airbus A330. We strongly condemned this act of terrorism. This is a daunting reminder of the challenges posed by these pernicious forces who intend to threaten our democracy and the stability of each of us individually and all of us collectively. The Nigerian government has promised to fully cooperate with America and has ordered a high-level probe into the matter. Hopefully all parties are detained!
Growing up in London, we are no strangers to the ills of terrorism and would not wish it on anyone. We lost our close friend Kieron Cassidy in the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005! Another Wale Akinyele was a survivor and they both serve as our inspiration to become advocates against terrorism.
In the past we have had our own issues as we once referred to ourselves as SAS- Eurogang Fedayeen Regime! Fedayeen (in Arabic) mean “To fight in what you believe in!” It was a metaphor for our independence from major labels and our fight against the enslavement artist faced in this industry. However, after learning that this term was offensive to many of our fans, we quickly dropped the title to show respect to our supporters.
Once again we speak on behalf of the Naija (Nigerian) peoples living home an abroad when we say we apologize for the acts of this person and that we condemn violence and terrorist against innocent parties worldwide! Thanks for listening!”
S.A.S. has also attached a tribute song to the victims of the July 7, 2005 London bombings, and have started a group on their site for Nigerians who want to express their disdain with this incident:
http://streetsallsalute.ning.com/group/nigeriansagainstterrorism
