The Directorate of State Security (DSS) today said it is holding the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Desert Herald newspaper, Malam Tukur Mamu, on issues bordering on national security.
The spokesman of the DSS, Mr. Peter Afunanya, said in a press statement that Mamu he would answer “critical questions” on security.
The New Citizen reports that Mamu has in recent times been the key negotiator with the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train last March.
Several of the hostages of that incident have been released while some others remain in custody.
He has also closely identified with the efforts of the Kaduna-based cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, to negotiate with the bandits terrorising some states in the northern part of the country.
Mamu says he is the spokesman of the cleric.
Afunanya disclosed that Mamu was apprehended by the Interpol in Cairo, Egypt, on his way to Saudi Arabia, and brought back to Nigeria today.
He explained: “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.
“He has since been returned to Nigeria, 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.”
