I paid N80m ransom to Tukur Mamu for my mum, sister’s release, witness tells court

A witness identified as prosecution witness D has testified in the ongoing trial of Tukur Mamu, the publisher of Desert Herald newspaper, at the federal high court in Abuja.

The masked witness was led in evidence on Thursday by David Kaswe, a lawyer to the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

Mamu is facing trial on a 10-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism after he was accused of aiding and negotiating with the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.

Mamu was accused of collecting $120,000 in ransom payments on behalf of Boko Haram terrorists responsible for the train attack.

He was also accused of exchanging voice note communications relating to the hostages with one Baba Adamu, a Boko Haram spokesperson.

However, the Desert Herald publisher pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges.

THURSDAY’S PROCEEDINGS

Giving his testimony, the witness said he was informed that his mother and sister were among the passengers on board the train during the March 2022 attack.

The witness said a day after the terrorist attack, he visited the Kaduna hospital where the injured passengers were taken but could not see his mother and sister.

The witness told the court one of the abductors called him two weeks after the attack via telephone and asked him to speak with his sister.

He added that there was regular communication between him and the terrorists for about two weeks before they demanded a ransom of N200 million.

The witness said the terrorists provided him with the names and phone numbers of four journalists who could be contacted for negotiations.

He said out of the four journalists, only Mamu volunteered “to take up the responsibility”.

The witness said while struggling to raise the money for ransom, he received calls from Lucky Irabor, former chief of defence staff (CDS), and Yusuf Bichi, the former director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS).

He said the former defence staff requested a meeting in Abuja.

The witness said he was instructed by Irabor to tell him whatever he discussed with Mamu, adding that the former defence chief connected him with the committee set up by the federal government to facilitate the release of the kidnapped victims.

The witness said after he told the terrorists that Mamu had agreed to negotiate with them, they stopped communicating with him.

“As soon as they contacted Tukur Mamu, they stopped communicating with us. All information is from Tukur Mamu,” he told the court.

“We will go to Tukur Mamu, and he will tell us they have asked us to pay N100 million each.

“When the negotiation was going on, we had to link Tukur Mamu with the CDS committee.”

He added that one day, his sister called him from captivity to go back to Mamu for negotiations.

“After some people started getting their loved ones out, it got to a stage that kidnappers were no longer talking with the CDS committee,” he added.

“It should be noted that Tukur Mamu penciled me as a government agent. So, he never wants to talk to me.”

The witness said Mamu later agreed to communicate after a relation, who was the publisher’s former boss, intervened in the matter.

The witness said he negotiated the ransom from N200 million to N80 million and took the ransom in cash in August 2022 to Mamu in his Kaduna residence.

The witness disclosed that he was asked to convert the money to dollars, adding that the money amounted to $118,750 after the conversion.

He said two weeks later, Mamu called him for additional money to make it up to $120,000.

He added that his mother and sister were released after the ransom was paid.