Tukur Mamu was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday for collecting over N2 billion from families of victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and taking same to terrorists in exchange for kidnapped victims.
According to Daily Trust, a source said there are many allegations against the negotiator around the ransom paid to secure the release of the train passengers.
“There are reported inconsistencies between monies paid and what was actually remitted to the kidnappers. He is also seen as pandering too much to the side of the terrorists than the people and government. What pained us was the recent move to pay N25 million to secure the release of the remaining 23 persons but at the last minute, he thwarted the arrangement insisting on a much higher figure,” the newspaper quoted the source.
Another source in one of the intelligence outfits in Nigeria said Mamu’s arrest was beyond his activities in Nigeria.
“He was arrested in Egypt based on Advance Passenger Information (API) because he came under international security scrutiny following his activities here at home and beyond the shores of Nigeria shortly after the Kaduna train attack.
“I can assure you that Mamu has high linkage with terror groups in Egypt, especially in Sinai and by extension Libya, the Sahel and other parts of West Africa on this side, and the middle- east on the other side.
He has collected over N2bn in ransom for terrorists with some of the payments made in US dollars by desperate families and negotiated the release of their loved ones…We have been monitoring all his activities and evidence abound to hold him to account,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mamu told Daily Trust after he was investigated by the Egyptian security agencies: “I don’t have anything to hide and I am not afraid of them (DSS). I swear to God, I am not afraid of them. I just want the world to know what is happening.”
Mamu was arrested on Wednesday and whisked away by the Department of State Services (DSS) shortly after the Egypt Airline, which returned him from Cairo touched down at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) at 1:55 pm.
The DSS operatives also stormed his house on Thursday in a commando style.
The operatives hit Mamu’s residence in Kaduna in 20 vehicles and carted away documents, phones, and laptops.
Meanwhile, Mamu’s media aide Ibrahim Mada said the security operatives only acted on an order by the Nigerian government to arrest Mamu and his family who were on their way to Saudi Arabia to perform lesser hajj and were billed to return on September 20.
“The allegation according to some sources that he was arrested by security operatives in Egypt for fleeing the country is unfounded and baseless. We hereby demand their immediate and unconditional release,” Mada noted in a statement released on Wednesday evening.