Famous Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Gumi says Mallam Tukur Mamu, a publisher in Kaduna, should face punishment if found guilty of terrorism.He also asserts that since the case was in court, the security agencies had no right to designate anyone as a financier of terrorism.
Mamu was the chief negotiator between bandits and the families of passengers kidnapped from a train headed for Kaduna in March 2022. He was picked up on his way to Saudi Arabia for a lesser Hajj with his family, and since his arrest in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, in September 2022, he has been under the custody of the Department of State Services, or DSS. Mamu and 14 other people were listed as terrorist financiers on Wednesday by the Federal Government.
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The cleric prayed that Mamu would overcome his arrest, saying that God has a way of trying a believer. He also pointed out that his arrest was God’s method of testing his faith.
“Who declares someone a terrorist financer? Is it the court of law or a security agency? Security agency has no right to declare anyone a terrorist financer. The case is already in court, so why are they judging him on the pages of the newspaper? Once a case is in court, you allow the court to decide.”
Mamu is a family man, but he should be brought to court and put on trial, he suggested, adding that the only reason he was being held in custody was to intimidate him. He claimed that this intimidation was also terrorism.
“Arresting people unjustly is also terrorism; just like the terrorists do by going to somebody’s house to kidnap him,” he emphasized.
