FG behind arrest of terrorist negotiator, management says

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The management of the Kaduna State-based Desert Herald newspaper claimed on Wednesday that the federal government was behind the arrest of its publisher, Malam Tukur Mamu, in Cairo, Egypt.

Management described Mamu's arrest as "outright intimidation and harassment" by the federal government.

Mamu, a media consultant to the controversial cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, was a former negotiator for the terrorists who attacked the AK-9 train bound for Abuja-Kaduna on March 28, 2022.

The PUNCH reports that the publisher was arrested and detained at Cairo airport on Tuesday by Interpol as he waited for a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj.

But in a statement released Wednesday by the newspaper's special projects manager, Ibrahim Mada, the management accused the government of arranging Mamu's arrest and deportation from Egypt to Nigeria.

The statement read: "In its efforts to intimidate and harass the publisher of the Desert Herald newspaper, Malam Tukur Mamu, the federal government surreptitiously staged the arrest and deportation of the publisher and members of his family while they were on their way. in the holy land for the lesser Hajj.

"On September 5, 2022, Mamu and her family planned the trip to Saudi Arabia to perform the little Hajj.

"They passed through Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and left at 2:00 p.m. sharp on board Egypt Airlines.

"They are expected to return to Nigeria on September 20, 2022.

"Immediately after they departed, we received credible reports that NIA men and officers had stormed the airport with the intention of preventing it from traveling.

"But their attempt to frustrate the trip did not succeed as it has already left the airport for Cairo. But in their desperation to expose a pound of flesh, they forcibly retrieved copies of their travel documents at immigration.

“Upon arrival in Cairo, Malam Tukur Mamu and his family members were arrested and detained for almost 24 hours and then returned to Nigeria at the strict request and instructions of the Nigerian government.

"Mallam Tukur Mamu is a responsible citizen who voluntarily engaged in negotiations which resulted in the release of approximately 20 passengers from the I'll Destiny train hijacked by gunmen.

“His patriotic mission to ensure the safety of the unfortunate passengers has made him the target of blackmail by unscrupulous elements of the government who are bent on punishing him for this noble but dangerous sacrifice for the fatherland. These threats and intimidation forced him to repeatedly reveal that his life was in serious danger.

"Due to numerous threats to his life and a plot by security agents to entrap him, he withdrew from said negotiations but from his last stay, it seems that those who are desperately praying for his head are still hell-bent on carrying out their heinous dastardly plans.

"But it is our fervent hope that the evil machination of these desperate elements will be shattered by the fact that Allah is always on the side of the oppressed. This evil machination, like those that preceded it, will also come to pass" . END…