Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has responded to the accusation that his associate, Tukur Mamu, was involved in financing terrorist activities in Nigeria.
Gumi stated that Mamu, a publisher from Kaduna, should face prosecution if found guilty of funding terrorism instead of being held in detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) since his arrest in Cairo, Egypt, in September 2022.
Mamu was known for leading negotiations for the release of passengers kidnapped from a train bound for Kaduna in March 2022.
The federal government recently identified Mamu and 14 others as financiers of terrorism in Nigeria.
However, during a Twitter discussion organized by DailyTrust, Gumi argued that security agencies did not have the authority to label Mamu or anyone else as a terrorism financier.
The DSS brought Mamu before a Federal High Court in Abuja on charges related to terrorism financing. Mamu pleaded not guilty to the 10-count charge.
Gumi stated that the situation between Mamu and the security agency was a misunderstanding, but he declined to comment further as the case is currently in court.
“Mamu’s case is in the court. Let’s wait to hear from the court. It’s wrong to resort to media trial. Let’s wait for the court to state of he is a financier or not. I think if he is acquitted, he has a strong case to make on libel,” Gumi said.
“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.”
When asked if he had links with terrorism, Gumi said: “I am a public figure; many people come to me. The good, the bad, the ugly. As a preacher, I cannot send anybody away, no matter how bad. If you ask, especially pastors, armed robbers come to them and confess but they cannot still take them to the authorities.
“What I know of Mamu and his arrest is a misunderstanding between him and the committee that was supposed to deal with the release of some victims. But since the case is in court, we hope the court will be just to him.
“That is what we wanted all along; take him to court. Instead of incarcerating someone and leveling phantom allegations against him. Bring your proofs, And if Mamu is found guilty, he should have full fledged punishment. But as of what I know, let’s wait for the court.”
Shortly after Mamu’s arrest two years ago, Gumi claimed that he was arrested for helping victims of terrorist attacks. Gumi believed that Mamu’s arrest was a test of his faith, hoping that he would overcome it.
“Take him to court to face trial. Keeping him in custody despite being a family man was just to intimidate him. This intimidation is also terrorism. Arresting people unjustly is also terrorism; just like the terrorists do by going to somebody’s house to kidnap him,” he said.
“How can we continue in this situation under a government that is about to wind up? Our hope is for them to finish successfully not in a bad light. It’s not about Tukur Mamu, you all know that whenever they arrest innocent people, I always talk, not to talk of someone that I know and I’m only advising the government to release him so that we can apologize to him to forget what happened.”
