Metro

DSS Raids Terrorists’ Negotiator’s Kaduna Residence, Office

Published

3 years ago

September 8, 2022

A team of the Department of State Service raided the residence of Malam Tukur Mamu, the Publisher of Kaduna-based Desert Herald and Media Consultant to controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who withdrew as one of the negotiators between the terrorists that attacked the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna bound AK-9 train passengers.

A source familiar with the matter told one of our correspondents that the heavily armed DSS personnel stormed Mamu’s residence and the office of the Desert Herald Newspaper at about 12:30 am on Thursday.

It was gathered that the officers ransacked every nook and cranny of the house and carted away laptops, phones and documents.

The sources, however, said nothing incriminating was found in both the residence as well as the office.

According to him, no fewer than 50 heavily armed operatives in Toyota Hilux, Toyota Highlander as well as military vehicles raided both the residence and office.

He added that the two wives of the ex-negotiator that were with him when he was arrested, were brought back to the house, but his two sons “are still with him in detention.”

He said, “The heavily armed operatives came and they searched everywhere both at the residence and his office but nothing suspicious was found during the operation that started at about 12.30am

“Over 50 of them came in, fully armed with sophisticated weapons in Army vehicles, Toyota Hilux, and Toyota Highlander.

“Two wives that were with him (Mamu) were returned but his two sons, Faisal and Ibrahim are still with him in detention.

“They seized our phones and laptops computers.”

Recall that Mamu was arrested in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, on Tuesday.

The terrorists’ negotiator was said to have been arrested in Egypt alongside his family members.

Mamu was said to be on his way to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj when he was detained at the Cairo International Airport.

Confirming the arrest, the Management of the Desert Herald Newspaper, said the arrest was an attempt to intimidate its publisher.

In a statement on Wednesday by its Head, Special Projects, Ibrahim Mada, the management accused the Federal government of contriving the arrest, deportation of Mamu from Egypt to Nigeria.

The statement read, “His patriotic mission to ensure the safety of the hapless passengers made him a target of blackmail by unscrupulous elements in the government who are hell bent in punishing him for this noble but dangerous sacrifice for the fatherland. Such threats and intimidations have forced him to reveal on a number of times that his life was under serious threat.

“Due to numerous threats to his life and conspiracy from the side of security agents to frame him, he withdrew from the said negotiations but from his latest sojourn, it appears that those who are desperately praying for his head are still hell-bent in carrying out their odious dastardly plans.

“But it is our fervent hope that the evil machination of these desperate elements will be nixed by the fact that Allah is always by the side of the oppressed. This evil machination like the ones before it, shall also come to pass,” the statement read in part

The PUNCH reports that some blood-thirsty terrorists attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound AK9 train on March 28, and abducted some passengers.

The terrorists planted explosive devices along the rail track and when the train approached the point, the device exploded, causing the train to derail, leading to the death of eight passengers.

A day after the attack, another passenger who suffered from a gunshot wound died, making it nine, the total number of those killed in the attack.

From the manifest received by the Nigerian Railway Corporation, 398 passengers bought tickets but 362 were validated as having bought tickets. Over 60 passengers are still in the kidnappers’ den and have spent over 50 days in captivity.

After the abduction, the bandits threatened to commence the killing of abducted passengers in their custody if the Federal Government failed to meet their demands within seven days.

Parts of the demands were the unconditional release of their detained children held in an orphanage home in Adamawa State under the strict supervision of the Nigerian Army as well as the release of their detained comrades at arm.

The terrorists also disclosed that the suspended train service by the Nigerian Railway Corporation slated for May 23 on the Abuja-Kaduna route was a result of their threat to the government.

According to the bandits, the government is not sincere with the negotiation, warning that unless their detained children, forcefully taken away by security operatives from their wives in Nasarawa State and detained in Adamawa State, are released, none of the kidnapped passengers will come out alive.

Metro

Why DSS Questioned Me Over Viral Threat Video — Lagos NURTW Boss

Published

29 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Mustapha Olanrewaju, popularly known as Sego, has explained why he was grilled by the Department of State Services following a viral video in which he was accused of making threats ahead of the 2027 elections.

In the clip, Sego was heard speaking in Yoruba, saying: “Anyone who makes any mistake in 2027 will be dealt with. Let it be known: the APC is your party. Those who don’t comply will face us.”

The video sparked outrage online, with critics accusing him of incitement and political intimidation.

Speaking after his session with the DSS, Sego said, “Good afternoon everyone. My name is Alhaji Mustapha Adekunle Olanrewaju. I have been with the DSS since morning. I just left them around after 7. They just released me on bail.”

He insisted the claims against him were false. “I heard they invited me because of a propaganda that I insulted some people or something like that. So that is a fake rumour. What I was talking about was national union (NURTW),” he said.

Sego argued that rival groups within the union were behind the controversy. “We all know that every profession has its rival. As politicians have rivals, mechanics have rivals too. So it is the NURTW rivals that don’t want my work in Lagos to be successful. So they are looking for means to scatter it and cause trouble. They are the ones I was talking to and letting the world and the DSS and the Police know that NURTW is a peaceful union.”

He described the allegations as propaganda. “It is the naysayers that want to be peddling false rumours. So what the DSS have been grilling me about is not what it seems. It is just propaganda. I concentrate on my work. You can be part of any association. We all know the party we want to associate with.”

Sego added that the invitation was aimed at distracting him from his duties. “Since morning, I am supposed to be in my office but I have been with the DSS. This is an attempt to destabilise me and the NURTW in Lagos,” he said.

The NURTW have been accused in past elections of being used to intimidate opponents or sway voters, allegations the union has consistently denied.

During the 2019 and 2023 polls, clashes linked to transport union factions raised concerns about the use of motor park leaders in political disputes.

Metro

Youths Beat Ondo Monarch, Wife, Son During Festival

Published

41 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Crisis erupted in Idogun community, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Friday as some irate youths allegedly beat up the town’s monarch, Oba Moses Bakare, his wife, and his son, identified as Victor.

The incident, which occurred during the annual New Yam festival, left the monarch injured while his wife was reportedly beaten and stripped half-naked by the angry youths.

Though the cause of the attack could not be immediately ascertained, a resident of the town, who pleaded anonymity for fear of reprisal, said some residents had long been at loggerheads with the monarch.

The source stated, “The angry youths really assaulted the monarch and his wife and son. We don’t know what caused it but we know that some youths in the community don’t like the Oba; we don’t know why.

“If not the swift intervention of security operatives, the matter would have degenerated to a full-blown crisis in the town.”

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, told PUNCH Online that an investigation had commenced.

“The case is under investigation and we are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that justice is served,” the PPRO stated.

Metro

Police Arrest Officer, UNIPORT Student Over Cult-related Violence

Published

44 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The Rivers State Police Command says it has arrested two suspected cultists and recovered firearms and ammunition during a signing-out ceremony for final-year students at the University of Port Harcourt.

In a press release signed on Friday by its Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, the command said the suspects, a police officer and a student, were getting ready for clash with rival cultists before their arrest.

Iringe-Koko said, “On September 26, 2025, at about 1600hrs, during the activities marking the signing out of final-year students at the University of Port-Harcourt, the University’s Internal Security team confronted a suspected cult member , Police Corporal Onwukwe Godswill ‘m’ attached to the Elimgbu Division and a 200-Level Biomedical Technology undergraduate student of the University, Ifeanyi Israel ‘m’ in anticipation of a clash with rival Cultists on campus.”

Both suspects were taken into custody and searched, the statement added.

During the initial search, the PPRO said weapons, including pistols, ammunition, and axes, were recovered.

“A subsequent search of the house of the suspected cult leader, Cpl Onwukwe, by the operatives, resulted in the recovery of the following additional exhibits: one (1) locally made pistol and two (2) machetes,” she added.

The command said the suspects and exhibits are currently in police custody as an in-depth investigation is underway to determine the full extent of their involvement and identify any accomplices.

Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, reiterated the force’s commitment to maintaining peace.

He warned that “there will be no hiding place for criminals in the State” and urged the public to report suspicious activity to security agencies.”

PUNCH Online recalls that the Rivers Police Command last week also arrested a security guard simply identified as Godday over the alleged abduction and defilement of a 14-year-old girl in the Mothercat axis of Trans-Amadi in Port Harcourt.

The suspect was said to have been arrested last Tuesday by officers of the Amadi Police Division in partnership with security personnel of another bank adjacent to the scene of the crime.