A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday granted ex-parte application brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) to detain terrorists’ negotiator, Tukur Mamu, for 60 days.
Justice Nkeonye Maha granted the ex-parte motion moved by counsel for the DSS, Ahmed Magaji. The lawyer had argued that DSS need 60 days to conduct a thorough investigation.
The judge ordered the DSS to report back to the Court on the expiration date of the 60 days.
Mamu the publisher of Dessert Herald was arrested on September 6 on his way to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj. He was detained at Cairo International Airport before being repatriated back to Nigeria.
The DSS, in the motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1617/2022 dated and filed September 12, had urged the court to grant its reliefs to enable it conclude its investigation on Mamu, who had been leading the negotiation with the terrorists for the release of the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers kidnapped in March.
The DSS had, on Sunday, warned the public particularly a section of Nigerian media over comments on the arrest of Mamu. It enjoined the public to desist from making unguarded utterances and to await the court proceedings.
The statement by the agency’s spokesman Dr. Peter Afunanya, stated that the outcomes of it’s investigations on Tukur Mamu the self acclaimed terrorists/ bandits’ negotiator “is mind boggling”
It pleaded with the media and the public to allow the agency to do its work.
Dr. Afunanya, stated that DSS had “followed, with keen observation, overzealous comments by sections of the public in view of issues relating to the arrest and investigation of Tukur Mamu” and “wishes that it is not distracted with some of the skewed narratives pervading the media space.
“Instead, it requests to be left alone to concentrate on the ongoing investigations, the outcomes of which have remained mind boggling.
That “the Service will cease further comments on the subject matter since the court will determine its course.