Tukur Mamu is charged by DSS with aiding and abetting terrorism acts
The Kaduna train attack negotiator, Tukur Mamu, has been charged with assisting and abetting acts of terrorism by the Department of State Services (DSS).
This information was provided in an affidavit submitted before Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court in Abuja in support of an ex-parte motion with the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1617/2022.
Justice Maha had ruled on the ex-parte request brought by the DSS’s attorney, Ahmed Magaji, allowing the security service to hold Mamu for an additional 60 days while its investigation is ongoing.
The publisher of Desert Herald, Mamu, was accused by the security service of taking part in the financing of both domestic and foreign terrorists.
According to the report, Mamu shares intelligence with terrorist organizations, which has led to an increase in bandit assaults around the nation.
“Preliminary investigation so far established, amongst others, the offences of the logistic supplier, aiding and abetting acts of terrorism, as well as terrorism financing against him,” the DSS was said to have written in the affidavit.
“That the defendant (Mamu) has used the cover of his profession as a journalist to aid both local and international terrorist groups. That the action of the defendant has orchestrated the untimely death of several security personnel in north-central and north-eastern parts of Nigeria.
“That the defendant has discreetly given several information to bandits and terrorists that escalated various acts of terrorism in Nigeria. That the investigation has assumed a wider dimension and sophistication requiring time and advanced expertise to conclude.
“That some of the suspects working with the defendant are at large and premature release of the defendant will jeopardize the ongoing investigation. That it is in the interest of justice and national security to grant this application.
“That the activities of the defendant and his associates at large constitute a potent threat to the unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria.”
Mamu was imprisoned in Egypt while en route to Saudi Arabia for the smaller hajj; upon his return, he was apprehended at the Kano International Airport.
The DSS further claimed that Mamu, who allegedly brokered deals between terrorists and the families of kidnap victims, belonged to a worldwide terrorist organization and carried out his crimes under the guise of journalism.
It stated that when he was detained in Egypt, he was en route to an international terrorist summit.
The DSS had requested in the application “an order enabling the State Security Service/applicant to detain the respondent (Mamu) for a period of 60 days in the first instance, pending the conclusion of investigation.”
Hamza Pandogari, a legal officer with the DSS, testified in an affidavit in favor of the ex-parte application that Mamu needed to be held for 60 days in the beginning while the investigation into the multiple acts of terrorism against him was ongoing.
According to Pandogari, Mamu “The self-acclaimed Kaduna train negotiator exploited the opportunity to perpetrate, aid, and abet, as well as render support to both local and international terrorist organisations.
“That upon his interception and subsequent repatriation back to Nigeria, a duly signed search warrant was executed in his residence.
“That upon his interception and subsequent repatriation back to Nigeria, a duly signed search warrant was executed in his residence and office at No. 4, Ali Ladan Street, Sabon Kawo GRA and No. 14, Mamona Road, Anguwan Sarki, Kaduna State and various exhibits and items to establish his complicity with terrorists were recovered.”
Among the things found in Manu’s home and office, according to the agency, were $151 dollars, £20, 1,530 Indian rupees, one Saudi riyal, 70 dirhams, N 1,506,000, and 16 different foreign coins.
The DSS further claimed that the items recovered included two boxes of pump action cartridges, 16 ATM (Auto-Mated Machine) cards from both domestic and international banks, seven cheque books from various banks, six laptops, four tablets, 24 handsets, three international passports, one firearm license, eight pieces of Nigerian Army uniforms, and sixteen pieces of Nigerian Navy uniforms, all belonging to Mamu.
“That the defendant has discreetly given several information to bandits and terrorists that escalated various acts of terrorism in Nigeria,” it said. “That the investigation has assumed a wider dimension and sophistication requiring time and advanced expertise to conclude.
“That some of the suspects working with the defendant are at large and premature release of the defendant will jeopardize the ongoing investigation. That it is in the interest of justice and national security to grant this application. That the activities of the defendant and his associates at large constitute a potent threat to the unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria.”
