Lead negotiator between bandits and the passengers kidnapped from a Kaduna-bound train in March, Alhaji Tukur Mamu has been arrested in Cairo, capital of Egypt, with his family members.
Mamu was detained at the Cairo International Airport for 24 hours en-route Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj. He is being repatriated back to Nigeria.
The negotiator left Nigeria Tuesday and after being interrogated by the Egyptian security agencies, nothing incriminating was found on him.
Mamu insinuated a plan by the Nigerian government to detain him in another country just as was done to the self-acclaimed Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Igboho.
“I was on my way to Cairo-Egypt but my destination was Saudi Arabia for my Umrah alongside some of my family members. I was detained for 24 hours at the Cairo International Airport under the orders of Nigerian Government. I was not harassed at the Nigerian Airport until I got to Cairo when the security officials there told me that they had orders to arrest me by Nigerian Department of State Security (DSS). We were arrested alongside my family members for the whole day at Cairo Airport,” he said.
“Right now they boarded the next available flight for me and my family members back home to Kano. I’m sure the DSS officials would likely be waiting for me at the Kano airport today (Wednesday). I don’t have anything to hide and I’m not afraid of them (DSS). I swear to God I’m not afraid of them. I just want the world to know of what is happening” he said.
There have been allegations against Mamu acting more on the side of the terrorists. The Egyptian government found however found that his papers were genuine. He had pulled out of the negotiation with bandits after alleging threat to his life and attempted blackmail by the Nigerian Government.