By Adadainfo
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has confirmed that the Abuja-Kaduna train hostage negotiator, Tukur Mamu, is in its custody.
This was contained in a statement by the DSS spokesman Peter Afunanya on Wednesday after Mamu was arrested in Egypt by INTERPOL at the request of Nigerian officials.
“This is to confirm that Mamu, as a person of interest, was intercepted by Nigeria’s foreign partners at Cairo, Egypt on 6th September 2022 while on his way to Saudi Arabia,” the statement read.
“He has since been returned to the country, today, 7th September 2022, and taken into the Service’s custody.
“The act followed a request by Nigeria’s 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. The public may wish to note that the law will appropriately take its course.”
Mamu, who publishes Desert Herald Newspaper, publicly declared his part in negotiating for the release of the Kaduna train victims who were abducted on March 28.
But in August, he withdrew as the lead negotiator for the remaining train attack victims, claiming his life was under threat by the Nigerian government. So far, he has negotiated the phased release of 37 victims of the train attack, remaining 35.
Tukur Mamu was arrested by security operatives in Egypt.
Mamu, who is also the spokesman for Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, was said to have been arrested on Tuesday by INTERPOL at the Cairo International Airport while trying to connect a flight to Saudi Arabia.
Mamu was known for his access to Boko Haram terrorists and reported exclusively on its activities in the North East, as a result of which he once fled the country fearing arrest. Recently, he claimed to have warned government about the terrorists’ planned attack on Kuje Prisons, but that nothing was done until the terrorists struck on July 5, 2023, during which hundreds of inmates were freed, including 64 top terrorists.
