The management of Desert Herald Weekly has urged the Department of State Security (DSS) not to turn the arrest of its publisher, Tukur Mamu, into a media trial. The media outfit said the “military accoutrements” found in the publisher’s house during the DSS raid belong to his son, who is a naval officer.
Mamu, who is also the spokesman of Sheikh Ahmed Gumi and negotiator for the victims of the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna train attack hostages, was arrested last Tuesday by Interpol at the Cairo Airport in Egypt while waiting to connect a flight to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj along with his two wives and sons, Faisal and Ibrahim.
The Desert Herald in a statement signed by the Special Projects Manager, Ibrahim Mada, decried the continued raids and ransacking of Mamu’s office and residence, that of his in-laws and family members.
The statement further stated that the military kits, a uniform, and beret found during the raid on his house belonged to his son, Yahaya Bello, who is a naval officer and an NDA graduate.
“We urge the Department of State Service to avoid media trial of Malam Tukur Mamu publisher, Desert Herald Newspaper, whom they arrested and kept in detention since on Tuesday, 6th September. The DSS in a Press Release on Thursday, 8th September 2022, entitled ‘Update On Tukur Mamu’ claimed during their raids on his residence and office in Kaduna that a large sum of money in various currencies and denominations, as well as military accoutrements, were recovered.
While the DSS did not indicate the actual amount of the so-called large sum found in his house and office, we want to make it clear, that the ‘military accoutrements’ found in his house are military kits (uniform and beret) belonging to his son, Yahaha Bello, a Naval officer who graduated from NDA. Bello was brought up by Tukur and he lives in his house.
“Apart from detaining Tukur Mamu with his two sons, Faisal Tukur Mamu and Ibrahim Husaini Mamu, DSS operatives early this morning, at 12 am (Friday, 9th September 2022) stormed the residence of Abdullahi Mashi, collected handset phones of the residents, as well as cash and other valuable in the house and whisked him away. Mashi is an in-law to Mamu.
“The DSS also raided the apartment of Ibrahim Husaini Mamu at about 3:00 this morning. They could not find anything incriminating in all the houses they raided.”
In a separate press statement, the family Tukur Maman also decried the alleged “DSS smear campaign”
“The public may wish to know that the military accoutrements found in the home of the publisher belong to his nephew who passed out from Nigerian Defence Academy on 5th October 2019. Tukur Mamu who played the role of a father, was responsible for the upkeep and school expenses of the nephew till he enrolled in the Nigerian Navy” the statement said.
