Since the arrest of the publisher of Desert Herald newspapers, Tukur Mamu, in September 2022, there was eerie silence in unexpected quarters. The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NUJ), International Press Centre (IPC), civil society organizations, among others, have all kept mum over his prolonged trial and detention, perhaps because of the weight of the allegations leveled against him. But why should we blink over advocacy for a fair trial as espoused in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNHR)? Even if Mamu was not a journalist, it is our responsibility as journalists to advocate for a fair trial.
Mamu was arrested alongside his two wives and one other person while in transit in Cairo enroute to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj. Although nothing incriminating was found on him, the Interpol extradited him back to Nigeria.
Apparently, the security agents had been working with their Nigerian counterparts because, in less than 24 hours after his arrest, Mamu was bundled back to Nigeria, straight into the waiting arms of State Security Service (SSS) operatives who had already taken positions at the Aminu Kano International Airport Kano. From Kano, he was taken straight to Abuja.
For the then DG of SSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, it was time to demand a pound of flesh from someone whose newspaper, Desert Herald, was critical of him. Mamu’s Desert Herald has been critical of Bichi’s repression of critical voices, the opposition politicians as well as involvement of his family in the affairs of the service.
Since his arrest, Mamu’s tribulations have taken a turn for the worse. He is being held in the SSS underground bunker in Abuja from where he is moved to court at intervals to answer some strange charges of terrorism financing and other related crimes slapped on him by the federal government.
Unfortunately, Nigerian Sanctions Committee, the national body responsible for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), had listed Mamu among 15 individuals and bureau de change operators funneling funds to terrorists operating in Nigeria. Of the lot, Mamu happens to be the only known name.
In response to queries as to what could have prompted his arrest, the SSS said in a statement that Mamu was a “person of interest” who was picked up following “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 question is why was Mamu not arrested or invited at the point of leaving Nigeria for lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia?
Meanwhile, at the time he was held in Cairo, the SSS stormed his residence and office in Kaduna to conduct a search. Nothing incriminating was found during the search, except a set of military uniforms belonging to his nephew (who is a serving military officer). In justifying the tag of terrorism financing hung on Mamu’s neck, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) said he received and delivered ransom payments to the tune of $200,000 to ISWAP terrorists for the release of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack which occurred in March 2022.
Determined to make sure that the unwholesome and unseemly label of terrorist financier sticks, the government accused Mamu of exchanging voice notes relating to the Abuja-Kaduna train hostages with one Baba Adamu, who is said to be a Boko Haram spokesperson. Mamu has vehemently denied all the allegations associating him with any allegiance to elements terrorizing Nigeria.
To bolster a point regarding Mamu’s patriotism, he was part of the Sheikh Ahmad Gumi-led team that traversed the forests and enclaves of kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements to persuade them to lay down their arms and stop terrorizing the people.
The top Islamic cleric whom Mamu served as media consultant has also been compelled to defend a man he claims to know too well. Gumi rightly believes that the Kaduna-based publisher does not in any way support acts of terrorism, and that the problem the Nigerian government currently has with Mamu was the outcome of a misunderstanding between both parties. And the cleric is not far from being correct. Mamu is a genuine patriot who will do nothing to undermine the peace and security of his country. This is the reality that his tormentors in government are yet to come to terms with.
The misunderstanding that has resulted in his current travails stems from his role as a negotiator for the release of the hostages of the train attack held by the terrorists. This does not in any way qualify him as an agent of terrorists. Mamu is a media professional with strong views on issues that he is passionate about. A couple of times in the past he may have had a run-in with governmental authorities with regard to his media work, which is normal especially when the individual in question is driven by principles.
True, Mamu was the main man in the bid to get the hostages released, but his intention should not be misunderstood. His involvement in the negotiation for the release of the hostages was propelled by nothing but an undiluted sense of humanity. And he did that with the consent of Nigerian authority. His was an act of selfless service rendered by a citizen deeply troubled by the intense anxiety that enveloped the country at the time as a result of the palpable danger in which some fellow compatriots found themselves in the forest, surrounded by a contingent of well-armed, ruthless terrorists. Moreover, even Western countries that abhor every facet of terrorism had, on some occasions, paid ransom and engaged local negotiators to secure release of their citizens abducted by terrorists. It is also a trite that the Nigerian government paid ransom to secure release of hostages.
Mamu was honest and forthright in his engagement with the families of the hostages, and he dealt with the terrorists with the same evenhanded temperament in his effort to secure freedom for the hostages. Money exchanged hands in the process no doubt – from the families to Mamu, and on to the abductors. But it would be incorrect to conclude that because of his role as the link between the families of the hostages and their captors, Mamu is a collaborator or promoter of terrorism in Nigeria or elsewhere.
It only takes a man of profound influence to play the role Mamu played in the unfortunate hostage drama. What he did was to parlay his connections to mediate between the parties involved to end the abduction. And instead of being made to face prosecution for this, he should rather be commended.
He has been detained in the SSS facility for over two years now, and it cannot be predicted how long he will be kept there without trial. At this point, it is appropriate to call on the federal government and the new DG of SSS to either subject him to fair and accelerated trial or withdraw the charges against him and set him free. Mamu deserves no less.
- Jaafar is a UK-based Nigerian journalist
