MOGADISHU (SD) – Somalia’s opposition leaders have called for the dismissal of top leaders of the country’s intelligence agency barely a day after the national intelligence agency (NISA) blamed al-Shabaab the murder of 24-year-old Ikran Tahlil Farah, who worked in agency’s cybersecurity department.

In a statement, Council of Presidential Candidates (CPA) urged the PM to act swiftly by removing the top leadership of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) to restore confidence in the institution.

The council has blamed the agency for being behind political assassinations and involvement of clandestine transportation of Somali national army (SNA) recruits to Eretria who later allegedly took part in Tigray conflict.

The CPC has demanded independent investigation into the murder Ms. Farah who was abducted June 26 near her home in Mogadishu’s Abdulaziz district, which is close to the agency’s headquarters.

Her disappearance raised a storm with her family constantly asking the government to explain her disappearance or produce her. Politicians also picked up the issue and made it a campaign subject.

News of her disappearance circulated widely on mainstream and social media.

The remarks of CPA come on the heels of NISA statement saying its investigators determined that the young woman’s kidnappers had handed her over to al-Shabab militants, who later killed her.

The agency did not release details about when or where it believed Ikran was killed.

In a statement published Friday on pro-al-Shabab websites, a spokesman for the group said it knows nothing about the alleged killing.

‘”We do not know anything about the killing of Ikran Tahlil who works for NISA,” Al-Shabaab’s statement reads in part.