A Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted the Department of State Services (DSS) to detain a former terrorists’ negotiator and publisher of Desert Herald, Tukur Mamu, for 60 more days.
BASIC FACTS
- An Abuja Federal High court has granted the Department of State Security (DSS) leave to detain Tukur Mamu for 60 days.
- The DSS is investigating Tukur Mamu role in the kidnapping of Kaduna train attack victims.
- Tukur Mamu was arrested in Egypt by Interpol, before he was deported to Nigeria.
WHAT WE KNOW
Justice Nkeonye Maha of a Federal High court Abuja, this Tuesday, granted the DSS leave to detain Tukur Mamu for a further 60 days to allow for investigation.
Justice Nkeonye Maha gave the permission on Tuesday while granting an ex-parte motion moved by the counsel for the DSS, Ahmed Magaji.
Tukur Mamu, a leading negotiators for the release of victims of the train attack in Kaduna State, was arrested at Cairo International Airport, Egypt on his way to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj.
In the motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1617/2022 and dated September 12, the DSS urged the court to grant its reliefs to enable it to conclude its investigation on Mamu who had been leading the negotiation with the terrorists for the release of the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers kidnapped in March.
CATCH-UP
Tukur Mamu was arrested last week September 6, by INTERPOL at the Cairo International Airport in Egypt while trying to connect a flight to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj.
Following his arrest, he was deported to Nigeria the next day and taken into custody of the DSS upon arrival at the Kaduna airport.
The DSS was latter to conduct a search at Mamu’s house and office, where hard currency and military items were recovered.
Popular Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi, to whom Mamu is a spokesman called for the release of Mamu, or take him to court, describing his arrest as an act of terrorism.
However, the DSS, reacting to Gumi, said it would not be distracted by some skewed narratives in the media and requested to be left alone to concentrate on the ongoing investigations, the outcomes of which it said have remained ‘mindboggling’.
It explained that the arrest in Egypt followed a request by the military, law enforcement, and intelligence community to their foreign partners to bring back Mamu to the country to answer critical questions on ongoing investigations relating to some security matters in parts of the country
TAKEAWAY
It’s is good that the DSS now have a legal backing to further keep Tukur Mamu, otherwise, the detention may risk been challenged in court.
The arrest in Egypt on account of a said collaboration with Nigerian intelligence community, leaves us wondering why the agencies had to wait for him to go outside the borders of country before his arrest.
Was there anything that would have prevented his arrest back home?
If he had no cause to be in Egypt at the time of arrest, wouldn’t he have been arrested?
Nonetheless, now that he is arrested, a thorough investigation should be carried out to unravel this somewhat mystery of banditry.
