Metro

Train Attack: Terrorist Leader Gave Mamu N50m From Ransom — DSS Operative

Published

2 weeks ago

November 26, 2025

A Department of State Services (DSS) investigator has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Tukur Mamu was offered a N50 million share by Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group, who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna-bound train in 2022.

The DSS operative, who testified as the 6th prosecution witness (PW-6) in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mamu, the alleged terrorists’ negotiator, told Justice Mohammed Umar while being led in evidence by the DSS lawyer, David Kaswe.

The witness, who gave his testimony behind a witness screen for security reasons, said the group also asked Mamu to teach them how to open a website for their terrorist activities.

He stated this while interpreting four voice notes played in the courtroom containing the defendant’s telephone interactions with the terrorists who held the abducted train passengers hostage.

The audio recordings were extracted from Mamu’s mobile telephones during interrogation after he was arrested in Egypt and brought back to Nigeria.

“The first voice note that played was for the defendant (Mamu) fixing a date for the delivery of the ransom.

“The second voice note that played for five minutes was the voice of Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group.

“In the voice note, he was appreciating the defendant’s effort and asked him to remove N50 million for his personal use from a particular tranche of ransom sent to them.

“The last voice note that played, Baba Adamu, who is their spokesperson, was heard requesting the defendant to help them procure speakers and a public address system for their preaching activities, and the defendant responded that he was going to look into their request.

“They also requested that the defendant teach them how to open a website for their activities,” the witness said.

Mamu was alleged to have convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the Federal Government for his personal financial gain.

The defendant was said to have been nominated by the terrorists who attacked the train sometime in March 2022, where scores of passengers were held hostage.

Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of a terror group from families of hostages, confirmed the amount, and facilitated the delivery of the same to them.

The PW-6, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Kaswe, told the court that after Mamu was brought back from Egypt, he submitted his Samsung tablet and two phones to DSS officials.

The witness, who said he was part of those who investigated the case, told the court that when the defendant was intercepted in Egypt, he put a call to his in-law, identified as Mubarak Tinja and directed him to move out all his valuables, comprising of cash, cars and other items of values, from his house to a safe location, to avoid detection by security agents.

“The defendant was subsequently arrested in Egypt and returned back to Nigeria, where a team of investigators was on the ground to receive him.

“A duly endorsed search warrant was executed in his property and office in Kaduna, during which cash, in both local and foreign currencies, vehicles, and other valuables were recovered.

“In compliance with his directive to his in-law, Mubarak Tinja, and the other dependants in the house, some cars and cash were moved out of the house to various locations,” he said.

He said investigators later traced and located some of the items, including about 300,000 US dollars, about seven cars, including a Toyota Camry (Muscle), a Peugeot 5008, a Lexus, a Mercedes E350, and a Hyundai car.

Vehicle documents relating to the cars were later tendered by the prosecution through the witness, which the court admitted in evidence.

The witness added that when the defendant was brought back to the country, he “handed his Samsung tablet and two of his phones to our exhibit keeper, who sent them to our forensic department for forensic analysis.

“The outcome of the forensic analysis, which included the voice notes of the conversation between the defendant and the terrorists, was part of the content that was presented to the interrogation team and the items recovered from his home.

“He (the defendant) was subsequently interviewed, during which the content of his phones and other items were presented to him.

“During the interview, the defendant admitted giving instruction to Mubarak to move his belongings from his house.

“He also admitted communicating with the terrorists, using his voice notes, which were extracted from his two phones and Samsung tablet.”

He added that the defendant also admitted owning a pump-action gun, which was recovered from his house, which he claimed was duly licensed.

The witness, however, told the court that investigators later discovered that the licence expired in December 2021, nine months before he was arrested.

The DSS operative said about 98 per cent of the conversation on the voice notes is in Hausa Language, some of which were translated to English by him, because there were too many.

Kaswe then applied to tender the recorded voice notes stored on compact disk plates and flash drives, which the court admitted, after Mamu’s counsel, Johnson Usman, reserved his objection until the final address.

The recorded conversations were played in the courtroom.

The witness added that in the course of the investigation, two victims volunteered written statements in which they recounted their experiences.

He said one of the statements was written in English and the other in Hausa.

He, however, said that the victims, a male and female, were no longer available, because they expressed their unwillingness to attend court to testify because of fear and trauma.

The court admitted the statements of the victims in evidence and marked them as exhibits after it was not opposed by Usman.

The court also admitted in evidence eight statements made to investigators by Mamu and video recordings of the statement-writing sessions.

Kaswe then informed the court that he would be bringing a formal application for the court to visit where the items recovered from Mamu’s house and office are kept.

Metro

Edo Assembly Declares Okpebholo’s Projects Unprecedented

Published

22 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

The Edo State House of Assembly has described projects embarked upon by Governor Monday Okpebholo as unprecedented in the history of Edo State.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Atu Osamwonyi, made the assertion when he led members of the legislature on a comprehensive oversight inspection of several ongoing infrastructural projects.

Other lawmakers on the oversight team included Hon. Addeh Isibor, Hon. Yekini Idaiye, and Hon. Ugabi Kingsley.

Hon. Osamwonyi, who spoke during an assessment tour of the Sapele Road Flyover, said the lawmakers were in the field to verify the progress of work and ensure that funds appropriated by the Assembly were being judiciously utilised.

According to him, the flyover represents a milestone for Benin City and reflects the governor’s commitment to infrastructural renewal.

He emphasised that unlike past administrations where funds were approved with no tangible results, the Okpebholo-led government had demonstrated transparency and visible delivery.

“In my entire life in Edo State, this flyover project is the first of its kind. We are here physically, and work is ongoing,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker added that the Assembly had earlier inspected the Ramat Park Flyover on Monday, noting similar levels of progress.

“This is the fifth site we have visited since yesterday. We are impressed with what we have seen so far, and as a House, we will stand by the governor to ensure he finishes strong,” he said.

At Ogheghe, Old Sapele Road and Ekae Road—where a 14-kilometre road and concrete drainage network is underway—Hon. Osamwonyi described the construction efforts as unprecedented, expressing astonishment at the level of work done within a short period.

He insisted that the legislature does not play politics with accountability and would speak the truth at all times.

“If Governor Okpebholo was not doing well, we would say it. But I stand here today to affirm that the funds appropriated are being used judiciously for the benefit of the people.l”, he noted.

He further remarked that despite limited financial resources, the governor had delivered projects many believed were impossible.

The Deputy Speaker recalled that several communities, particularly in Ogheghe, previously suffered from severe road degradation that made access impossible, even for motorcycles.

“But today we are standing here with joy. The governor has brought democracy to Edo in a way the people can feel,” he said.

According to him, contractors handling the projects confirmed that although the initial timeline was two years, work would likely be completed within one year and six months due to the speed of implementation.

“That tells you that Governor Okpebholo is not eating Edo people’s money,” he added.

Hon. Osamwonyi stressed that the Assembly would resist any attempt to derail the governor’s momentum.

“This is the continuity we want in Edo State. Anybody who wants to thwart the governor’s efforts, we will not agree,” he said.

The oversight team also visited the 5.86-kilometre road project linking Amagba and Obagie-N’Ebvuosa, where the engineer handling the project reported that 4.3 kilometres of drainage had already been completed.

Metro

Edo Final-year Student Dies In Sign-out Motorcade Crash

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

A yet-to-be-identified final-year student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, has lost his life in a road crash after he and some other students embarked on a motorcade parade to celebrate the completion of their final examinations.

It was learnt on Tuesday from a Facebook user, Inside Edo, that the accident occurred on Monday shortly after the students finished their final examination.

Inside Edo disclosed that the vehicle had attempted to overtake another before losing control and ramming into a truck.

The post read, “A tragic accident has occurred at Ujoelen, close to the primary school, resulting in the death of a newly graduated student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.

“According to eyewitnesses, the crash happened during an attempted overtaking by one of the vehicles involved.

“The risky manoeuvre reportedly led to a loss of control, causing the fatal incident. Residents who were nearby rushed to the scene, but the victim could not be saved.”

Similarly, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the students were said to have been driving recklessly before crashing into a stationary truck.

The deceased was said to be part of a convoy made up of fresh graduates of the university.

NAN reported, “He was reportedly part of a convoy of fresh graduates who took to the highway on Monday shortly after their signing-out activities.

“Witnesses said the group drove recklessly and failed to observe basic safety rules during the celebrations.

“The tragedy occurred when the deceased attempted to overtake a moving truck but collided with a stationary vehicle parked along the road.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Cyril Mathew, proved abortive, as the official number available on the FRSC directory was not reachable at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, NAN reported that Mathew later confirmed the incident, adding that one person died while five others were injured in the crash.

“The students, after writing their last paper, took to the road in a convoy.

“In the process, one of them overtook another vehicle and rammed into a stationary truck,” NAN quoted Mathew as saying.

Metro

One Dies In Oyo Fire, Two Rescued

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

One person lost her life in a fire incident at Agbaakin Street, behind Testing Ground, Iwo Road, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday.

This was contained in a statement by the Chairman of the State Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, in Ibadan, on Tuesday.

He said the fire resulted from a lighted charcoal cooking pot left unattended, which ignited nearby combustible materials.

Akinwande added that the firefighting operation was successfully carried out with the support of officers of the Federal Fire Service.

“The fire emergency was received at exactly 20:18 hours on Monday, December 8, 2025.

“On getting there, it was two rooms on the upper floor of a private residential building of 12 rooms engulfed by fire.

“One person (female) was recovered, while two persons (males) were rescued alive. The fire also affected only two rooms, and the whole building and other properties worth millions of naira were saved by the officers of the agency.

“The fire incident was a result of a lighted charcoal cooking pot left unattended, which ignited nearby combustible materials. The operation was jointly carried out with the Federal Fire Service, Ibadan Command,” he explained.

In a related development, a fire incident on Tuesday engulfed the Agric Business Development Agency at Total Garden in Ibadan.

A statement by the State Fire Service Chairman, Akinwande, said the agency received a telephone call through Mr Akinyinka reporting that fire had ravaged the place.

“The incident was reported at exactly 09:20hrs on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, through a telephone call by Mr Akinyinka (the General Manager, Oyo State Fire Services Agency) to the office, reporting a fire at the above-stated address.

“The officers, led by ACFS Oyeniyi Taofeek, swiftly mobilised and deployed to the scene. Upon arrival, it was discovered that electrical sparks from a solar inverter control board on the upper floor of the building resulted in the fire.

“The swift response and professional intervention of our officers prevented the situation from escalating into a fire disaster. The use of portable fire extinguishers was employed during the firefighting operation.

“No casualty was recorded, and properties worth millions of naira were saved by the fire service. The fire incident was a result of electrical sparks from the inverter system,” the statement read.

The chairman, therefore, advised the public to always use correct cables and other electrical materials for their installations.