Popular Nigerian controversial Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, has declared that the Department of State Services (DSS) has no right to declare his ally, Mallam Tukur Mamu, a terrorist financier.
Recall that the Federal Government recently released a list of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms, involved in terrorism financing.
Truetells Nigeria reports that the details of the development were revealed by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and made available to journalists.
The document, entitled “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024,” disclosed that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee met on March 18, 2024, and recommended that specific individuals and entities be sanctioned following their involvement in terrorism financing.
Among the individuals named on the document is a Kaduna-based publisher, Tukur Mamu.
It is worth noting that Mamu has been in the custody of the DSS since his arrest in Cairo, Egypt, in September 2022. The cleric is currently being tried by the Federal Government for allegedly aiding the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.
Mamu was apprehended at the time with his family members while en route to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj.
During a recent X Space organized by Daily Trust, Sheik Ahmad Gumi stressed the importance of not granting security agencies the power to categorize an individual as a terrorist financier, particularly when the matter is already being handled by the court.
Despite facing charges related to terrorism financing in a Federal High Court in Abuja, Mamu firmly pleaded his innocence.
Sheikh Gumi described the situation between Mamu and the security agency as a misunderstanding, refraining from further comments as the case is currently being handled by the court.
Mamu’s case is in court. Let’s wait to hear from the court. It’s wrong to resort to a media trial. Let’s wait for the court to state whether he is a financier or not. I think if he is acquitted, he has a strong case to make on libel.
“Who declares someone a terrorist financer? Is it the court of law or a security agency? The security agency has no right to declare anyone a terrorist financier. 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,” The Islamic scholar noted.
What I Know About Tukur Mamu’s Arrest
When asked to clear his name from Mamu’s case, as some people were already linking him to the controversy, the Sheik 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 for him.
“That is what we wanted all along; take him to court. Instead of incarcerating someone and levelling phantom allegations against him. Bring your proof, And if Mamu is found guilty, he should have full-fledged punishment. But as of what I know, let’s wait for the court.”
Following Mamu’s arrest two years ago, Gumi claimed that Mamu was detained due to his involvement in aiding victims of terrorist attacks, Truetells Nigeria recalls.
The cleric emphasized that God tests believers in mysterious ways, expressing hope that Mamu would emerge stronger from this trial.
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.
“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,” Sheik Gumi had said.