Tukur Mamu

By Safiyanu Ladan

Nigerian government suspended the Kaduna- Abuja train service operation following an attack by the dreaded Boko Haram Terrorists on 28 March 2022.

The attack in which 12 people were killed and 63 others abducted generated widespread outrage from Nigerians across the country. It also created a sense of fear in the mind of teeming travellers plying the ever-busy road every day that links the section of the northern part of the country with the nation’s seat of power (Abuja).

Some days after the unfortunate incident, the marauding and bloodthirsty terrorists released the Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, on health grounds and after ransom was allegedly paid to the terrorists by his family.

In disturbing videos released by the terrorists, they have threatened to kill and sell the remaining captives if the government fails to meet their demands.

The intervention of Malam Tukur Mamu, a Kaduna-based publisher and chief of staff to renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Dr Ahmad Gumi, saw the release of some of the victims after billions of naira were allegedly paid as ransom to the terrorists.

A heavy price follows the involvement of Mr Mamu as he’s currently languishing in the DSS custody awaiting trial.

In a statement, the Department of State Security said he was deported back to Nigeria from Egypt, where he was arrested and detained for 24 hours, to answer critical questions on ongoing investigations relating to some security matters in parts of the country.

The abrupt cessation of the train service due to the attack has cost Nigeria greatly, as billions of naira were lost. As of August 2022, the federal government has lost over 3 billion naira in revenue since it suspended the train services.

The release of the 23 remaining victims in October this year, facilitated and executed by the military, renewed Nigerians’ hopes for the resumption of the train service. 

Through the minister of transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, the Federal government has since announced that the train service will resume this month. Even though he did not reveal the specific date of the resumptions, Nigerians are anxiously waiting for the day.

Given the foregoing, the terrorists’ attack on the Kaduna-Abuja bound train has crippled many business activities and has triggered devastated socioeconomic conditions to many Nigerians whose means of livelihood solely depend on the service of the train.

We await the resumption of the train service before the end of this month. It’s our collective hope and prayer that the federal government is now equipped with adequate measures that will forestall the future occurrence of the sad and avoidable incident.

Safiyanu Ladan writes from Zaria.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government of Nigeria, today Thursday, has said that the family of Kaduna-Abuja train victims should be at ease as the arrest of Tukur Mamu will not halt the efforts to rescue those in captivity.

The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingiyadi, disclosed this in Abuja after the NSC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers.

The Daily Reality reported how more than 60 passengers were abducted when terrorists attacked the train conveying them from Abuja to Kaduna. However, today marks exactly 186 days after their abduction and 23 of the victims are still in captivity while others, on the hand, who regained their freedom, were said to have allegedly paid N100 million as ransom.

The Daily Reality also reported that the bandits negotiator was first arrested in Egypt on the orders of the federal government of Nigeria on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

He was later brought back to Nigeria where he was, again, arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Our reporters learned that the train victims have not communicated with their families since Mamu’s arrest.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Department of State Services, DSS, said its preliminary investigation has established that the Desert Herald publisher, Tukur Mamu, sponsors terrorism. 

This was made known by the DSS through its lawyer, Ahmed Magaji, in an affidavit supporting a motion before the Federal High Court, FHC, in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the DSS, Mamu was on his way to a meeting with foreign terrorists when he was arrested by Interpol last week. They also disclosed that he is a logistics manager of both local and foreign terror organizations. 

The presiding Justice, Evelyn Maha, has granted the motion sought to detain Mamu for 60 days in order to allow unhindered investigation.

The Daily Reality had reported that Mamu was arrested in Cairo while on his way to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alongside his wives.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Department of State of Service (DSS) has detained a staff member of Desert Herald, a Kaduna-based publication owned by Tukur Mamu, the negotiator of Kaduna train hostage.

The staff, idefied as Mubarak Tinja, was detained after he was invited by the security operatives to retrieve phones and other devices that were fetched from Mamu’s house.

It was gathered that Tinja was accompanied by his friend to the Kaduna office of the DSS around 5 pm where they detained him.

According to a source, “The DSS went to the house and left a note for Mubarak Tinja to come to their office for the phones they collected and so he went with a friend.

“Sometime around 9pm, security agents asked his friend to return home and when he asked of Tinja, they said they were keeping him for questioning,” he said.

Mamu is the Spokesperson of the Kaduna- based cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, and had led the negotiation for the release of some of the abductees of March 2022 Kaduna train attack.

The Daily Really reported that the negotiator was first arrested by Interpol on Tuesday in Egypt and picked up by DSS in Kano as his plane touched the ground.

The DSS subsequently said Mamu has questions to answer regarding the rising insecurity in the country.