Negotiator for Abuja-Kaduna train abductees arrested in Egypt, repatriated

Tukur Mamu, negotiator for the Abuja-Kaduna train abductees, some of whom have regained freedom, has been arrested in Egypt and repatriated back to the country.

Mr Mamu, a publisher and the aide of controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, was picked up in the Middle Eastern country while waiting for a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj.

Narrating what transpired to Daily Trust Wednesday morning, he explained that the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) arrested him alongside his family members on the orders of the Nigerian government.

“I was on my way to Cairo-Egypt but my destination was Saudi Arabia for my Umrah alongside some of my family members,” Mr Mamu recounted. “I was detained for 24 hours at the Cairo International Airport under the orders of Nigerian Government.

“I was not harassed at the Nigerian Airport until I got to Cairo when the security officials there told me that they had orders to arrest me by Nigerian Department of State Security (DSS). We were arrested alongside my family members for the whole day at Cairo Airport.

“Right now they boarded the next available flight for me and my family members back home to Kano. I’m sure the DSS officials would likely be waiting for me at the Kano airport today (Wednesday).

“I don’t have anything to hide and I’m not afraid of them (DSS). I swear to God I’m not afraid of them. I just want the world to know of what is happening,” he added.