Parliament Representative for Hulhudhoo constituency Ilyas Labeeb said that he had informed Minister of Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi of plans to attack former President and Speaker Mohamed Nashed.
In a statement released by the MP on Friday, he claimed to have received information from a civilian of an attack being planning targeting Nasheed.
As per Ilyas, he had immediately informed Nasheed, and upon his request, informed Defence Minister Mariya as well.
Nasheed was attacked on May 6, as he was getting in his car to leave Male'. An IED near his car exploded, leading to multiple injuries. He was taken to Germany on Thursday for further treatment and rehabilitation.
"As the institution charged with ensuring President Nasheed's security was Defence Ministry, when I had informed them, they had not at any point requested this information be shared with either Maldives Police Force or Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF)," Ilyas Labeeb said in the press release.
Ilyas Labeeb said, he has been cooperating with the ongoing investigation on the attack.
Additionally, Ilyas highlighted in his press statement that his biggest concern was information regarding an ongoing investigation being released to the media by those in high government positions. These details on Nasheed's assassination attempt, when released to the media, was leading to a media debate, he stated. He doesn't believe these are responsible actions.
Speaking to local media RaajjeMv, Minister Mariya said once she received word of an attack being planned from an MP. As per her, she shared that information with MNDF and requested to strengthen security details for the Speaker.
Furthermore, she said that she had requested the MP to let the police know as well.
Nasheed's security level was increased from "High Risk" to "Critical Risk" two months ago, according to Minister Mariya's interview to RaajjeMV. This was done after they received word of the assassination attempt
In the first press conference by MNDF after Nasheed's attack, Chief of Defence Force Major General Abdulla Shamaal has said they have received information that Nasheed was in danger. He also confirmed that the security was increased.
However, up until now, Police deny having received any intelligence prior to the attack on Nasheed.
Once word spread, citizens, parliamentarians and those from the opposition alike have called for the Defence Ministers resignation, having failed to stop such an attack given that they had prior information on it. Former Home Minister Umar Naseer said via Facebook that this was an act of negligence, as the assassination attempt took place after receiving prior warning of it.
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