Mallam Tukur Mamu, the publisher of Kaduna-based Desert Herald Newspaper, has rejected the ‘terrorist financier’ allegations levelled against him by the Nigerian government.
Mamu who is also the media aide to controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, was, last week, named by the federal government among 15 individuals and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators involved in financing terrorism in Nigeria by the Nigerian Sanctions Committee.
Reports has confirmed that Tukur Mamu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since September 2022.
This was disclosed in a document released by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) on Tuesday
The terrorism financiers uncovered included nine individuals and six Bureau De Change (BDC) operators and firms.
The nine individuals under sanctions are
1. Tukur Mamu
2. Yusuf Ghazali
3. Muhammad Sani
4. Abubakar Muhammad
5. Sallamudeen Hassan
6. Adamu Ishak
7. Hassana-Oyiza Isah
8. Abdulkareem Musa,
9. Umar Abdullahi
The six BDCs and firms are
10. West and East Africa General Trading Company Limited
11. Settings Bureau De Change Limited
12. G. Side General Enterprises
13. Desert Exchange Ventures Limited
14. Eagle Square General Trading Company Limited
15. Alfa Exchange BDC.
The NFIU noted that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee met on Monday, where specific individuals and entities were recommended for sanction following their alleged involvement in terrorism financing.
The NFIU stated that Mamu allegedly participated in the financing of terrorism by receiving and delivering ransom payments over the sum of $200,000 in support of ISWAP terrorists for the release of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
It stated that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, with the approval of President Bola Tinubu had designated the individuals and companies to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List.
Another terrorism financier, according to NFIU, is the suspected attacker of the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State on June 5, 2022, and the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja on July 5, 2022.
Another was “a member of the terrorist group Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladissudam, the group is associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.”
“The subject was trained and served under Muktar Belmokhtar, aka One Eyed Out, led Al-Murabtoun Katibat of AQIM in Algeria and Mali,” it added.
The NFIU said the individual “specialises in designing terrorist clandestine communication code and he is also an Improvised Explosive Device expert.
It stated: “The subject was also a gatekeeper to ANSARU leader, Mohammed Usman aka Khalid Al-Bamawi.
“Equally, he was a courier and travel guide to AQIM Katibat in the desert of Algeria and Mali. He is into carpentry. The subject fled Kuje Correctional Centre on July 5, 2022. He is currently at large.”
A senior commander of the Islamic State of West Africa Province Okene was also identified as a terrorism financier.
The NFIU noted that the individual came into limelight in 2012 as the North Central wing of Boko Haram.
“The group is suspected of the attacks carried out around Federal Capital Territory and the South West Geographical Zone, including the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State,” it added.
Recall that Mamu was arrested in Cairo, Egypt, in 2022 over his alleged involvement with the terrirosts who attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train where about 12 passengers were killed while hundreds were abducted.
Following his arrest and detention, the Directorate of State Services (DSS) in a statement, accused Mamu of exchanging voice notes relating to the train hostages with one Baba Adamu, a Boko Haram spokesperson.
While reacting to the allegations that he is one of those identified as a financier of terrorism in the country, Mamu, in a letter dated March 25, written on his behalf by his lawyer, J.J. Usman (SAN) and addressed to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), rejected the alleged profiling as a terrorist financier and demanded a retraction from the government.
In the letter made available to journalists in Kaduna on Tuesday, Mamu stated that the Nigerian Sanctions Committee lacks the statutory mandate to pronounce on him and designate Mamu as a terrorist financier.
The seasoned journalist therefore, gave the AGF a seven-day ultimatum for a retraction and an apology to Mamu or face litigation.
The letter stated that it was quite lamentable that while the case was still pending in court, the social media was saturated by a publication emanating from the office of the AGF.
“However, the said publication was specifically made by the ‘Nigerian Sanctions Committee’ wherein our client was profiled and designated as a terrorist financier,” part of the letter reads.
“As at the time of this missive, no court of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria has designated our client as such.
“It is a common knowledge that the administration of the criminal justice system in Nigeria is not only antithetic to, but forbids media trial in whatever guise.
“We vehemently condemn the actions of the Nigerian Sanctions Committee same being a violation of the rule of natural justice and prejudicial to our client who is undergoing trial, and whose trial is still pending in Suit FHCIABJ/CR/96/2023
“The Nigerian Sanctions Committee lacks the statutory mandate to pronounce on, and to designate Mr Tukur Mohammed Mamu as a terrorist financier; even when it is a notorious fact that Mr Tukur Mohammed Mamu is undergoing trial.
“It is so, particularly that the court has not made any pronouncement detailing him to be one. Based on the aforesaid, we demand in very clear and unequivocal terms, the immediate retraction of the said publication within seven days from the receipt of this letter dated 25h March 2024.
“Failure to comply with our client’s demand. we will have no hesitation in seeking redress in the court of law for the ventilation of our client’s grievances,” the letter stated.
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