Court sets Jan. 27 for judgment in trial of alleged terrorist negotiator Mamu

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA – Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed January 27 to deliver judgment in the charges the Federal Government filed against the alleged Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapping negotiator, Mr. Tukur Mamu. Security operatives arrested the defendant in Cairo, Egypt, on September 6, 2022, shortly after the Kaduna-bound train was attacked, while he was on his way to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj with his family members.

He was subsequently arraigned before the court on March 21, 2023, on terrorism-related charges and for alleged illegal possession of a firearm. The Kaduna-based Islamic scholar was alleged to have collected various sums of money in different currencies from families of victims of the train attack on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorist sect. The FG told the court that investigations revealed that the defendant collected an aggregate sum of $420,000 from families of the victims, as well as N21 million from another set of families of the train attack.

It further alleged that Mamu concealed, in his residence in Kaduna State, funds he earned from services he rendered to the terrorist organisation. It told the court that the defendant had, sometime in 2022, in Kaduna State, received ransom payments in the sum of N500,000 on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorist group from families of the train attack victims who were held as hostages.

Moreover, in the charge signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mr. M.B. Abubakar, the FG added that the defendant exchanged voice note communications with one Baba Adamu, identified as spokesperson of Boko Haram, in relation to acts of terrorism. It alleged that the defendant acted in breach of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

However, the defendant denied all the allegations and pleaded his innocence before the court. The prosecution closed its case with the evidence of six witnesses who testified before the court. At the resumed proceedings on Monday, Justice Umar reserved the matter for judgment after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument. While the FG’s lawyer, Mr.

David Kaswe, insisted that the totality of the evidence the prosecution adduced before the court was capable of securing the conviction of the defendant, the defence team, led by Mr. Johnson Usman, SAN, argued that no prima facie case was established against the defendant. Usman, SAN, urged the court to discharge and acquit the defendant for failure to link him to any offence in the charge.

It will be recalled that the Department of State Services (DSS), in an affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Hamza Pandogari, told the court that Mamu, who is the publisher of Desert Herald, used the cover of journalism to perpetrate his deeds. It told the court that the detained publisher was on his way to attend a clandestine meeting with top terrorist commanders when he was intercepted in Egypt with the help of the International Police (Interpol).

It alleged that preliminary investigations revealed that Mamu may be involved in terrorism financing. “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 the respondent was intercepted by the Nigerian foreign partners in Cairo, Egypt, on 6th September 2022, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with commanders and top leaders of terrorist organisations across the globe.

“That upon his interception and subsequent repatriation 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,” the affidavit read. The security agency told the court that, following the execution of the search warrant, various incriminating items were recovered from Mamu’s residence and office.

It listed some of the 34 recovered items to include 151 dollars, 20 pounds sterling, 1,530 Indian rupees, one Saudi riyal, 70 dirhams, one million, five hundred and six thousand naira, and 16 assorted foreign coins. The DSS further alleged that two packs of pump-action cartridges, 16 ATM (automated teller machine) cards from both local and foreign banks, seven cheque books of different banks, six laptops, four tablets, 24 handsets, three international passports belonging to Mamu, one firearm licence, eight pieces of Nigerian Army uniforms, and 16 pieces of Nigerian Navy uniforms were also recovered.

The court had, in a ruling on April 27, 2023, denied the defendant bail.