Headline

DSS Withdraws Suit Against Ex-terrorists Negotiator, Tukur Mamu

Published

3 years ago

November 24, 2022

The Department of State Services, on Thursday, withdrew a suit filed at a Federal High Court, Abuja to detain the former terrorists’ negotiator, Tukur Mamu, for 60 more days after his arrest.

DSS’ counsel, A.M. Danlami, told Justice Nkeonye Maha shortly after the matter was called for hearing.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1619/2022 between SSS and Tukur Mamu, was listed for further proceedings on the day’s cause list.

Upon resumed hearing, Danlami, who sought to withdraw the case, said that the matter has been overtaken by events.

“My lord, this matter is slated for hearing today. However, the matter has been overtaken by events. We wish to withdraw the suit,” he said.

Following the application, Justice Maha struck out the suit.

“Application of the learner counsel succeeds. The application is hereby struck out having been withdrawn,” she ruled.

NAN reports that the security agency, through its lawyer, Ahmed Magaji, had, on Sept. 13, moved a motion ex-parte, which sought an order of the court to detain Mamu for 60 more days in the first instance, pending the conclusion of its investigation.

The motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1617/2022, was dated and filed on Sept. 12.

It urged the court to grant its reliefs to enable it to conclude its investigation on Mamu, who had been leading the negotiation with the terrorists for the release of the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers kidnapped in March.

NAN reports that almost six months after the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists, the remaining 23 kidnapped victims finally regained their freedom on Oct. 5 following the Federal Government’s intervention.

Mamu was, on Sept. 6, arrested in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, with his family members by foreign security agents.

Mamu, who was on his way to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj, was detained at Cairo International Airport before being repatriated back to Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the DSS, in the affidavit in support of the ex-parte motion, alleged that its preliminary investigation established the offences of the logistic supplier, aiding and abetting acts of terrorism against Mamu.

The security outfit, in the affidavit deposed to by Hamza Pandogari, a legal officer with the service, said it was necessary for Mamu to be detained for 60 days pending the conclusion of the investigation of various acts of terrorism against him.

It alleged that the investigation established an act of terrorism financing against the former terrorists’ negotiator.

It alleged that Mamu, “the self-acclaimed Kaduna train negotiator exploit the opportunity to perpetrate, aid and abets as well as render support to both local and international terrorist organisations,” among others.

The DSS had warned Nigerians over making comments on its arrest of Mamu.

The DSS, in a statement by its Spokesman, Peter Afunaya, asked the public to leave the agency alone and allow it to concentrate on the investigations which it said the outcomes had been “mindboggling.”

This came hours after the Islamic cleric, Sheik Gumi, to whom Mamu is an aide, had faulted the arrest of the negotiator.

Gumi, at a religious gathering on Friday in Kaduna, had asked the security agency to charge Mamu to court if it had any evidence against him, rather than keeping him in custody.
NAN/PUNCH

Headline

Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

Published

5 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.

Headline

Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

Criminal Court ‘D’ in Monrovia is set to deliver judgment this week in Liberia’s first piracy trial, involving two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to court records, the defendants were arrested earlier this year after a Liberia-flagged ship was seized by armed men while transporting goods through international waters. The crew sent a distress signal, prompting international maritime forces to intervene.

The suspects were subsequently transferred to Liberian authorities under global maritime cooperation protocols.

According to Liberia’s news platform, Front Page Africa, the case has attracted attention because Liberia maintains one of the world’s largest open ship registries, yet prosecutions for piracy within its domestic courts have not previously occurred. Under international law, Liberia holds jurisdiction over crimes involving ships registered under its flag.

On Monday, proceedings took a new turn when defense lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, informed the court that the defendants had admitted responsibility for the hijacking and were requesting a plea-bargain arrangement. State prosecutors did not oppose the request, leaving open the possibility of reduced sentences in exchange for full cooperation.

Resident Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, who presides over Criminal Court ‘D’, will rule on whether to accept the plea deal and determine the sentencing framework. The ruling could also address deportation measures following imprisonment.

Criminal Court ‘D’ handles cases involving armed robbery, terrorism, hijacking, and other serious crimes, and the piracy trial represents a growing trend of transnational offenses being prosecuted within Liberia’s judicial system.
As of press time, the court has not announced the date for sentencing.

Headline

Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly 700 million euros ($825 million) for Israeli-designed rocket launchers.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.

The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalised on Spain’s official public contracts platform on September 9.

The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza”.

It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

Spain applied the ban as Israel stepped up its military onslaught.

Spain has also formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

That contract, valued at 287 million euros, had been first reported by the press in June.

According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.

Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sánchez’s new measures.

The Barcelona-based Delas Centre, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.