Nigerian Secret Service Searches Home of Kaduna Train Hostage Negotiator

Activist and journalist Tukur Mamu, who mediated for the release of people abducted in a train attack in Nigeria's Kaduna state on March 28, was arrested on September 7.

According to Anadolu Agency, Nigeria's secret service has searched the office and home of Tukur Mamu, a former negotiator between terrorists who abducted train passengers in March and the victims’ families. Laptops, phones, and other documents from both locations were seized during the search.

Spokesman for the Department of State Services (DSS) Peter Afunnaya said the agency is questioning Mamu about his supposed involvement in collecting ransom, security issues, and his alleged “strong ties with a terror group in the Sinai area in Egypt.”

Mamu, was caught by Interpol in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, while he was traveling from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia allegedly for Umrah - an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year.

Detained in Cairo for more than 24 hours, Mamu was sent back to Nigeria. At Nigeria’s Aminu Kano International Airport, Mamu was arrested along with his family.

Previously, on the evening of March 28, gunmen attacked a passenger train at Rigasa train station, located in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state. As a result of a bomb attack, eight people were killed and 46 were injured.

For a while, Mamu was mediating between members of the armed gang, the families of the hostages, and the government for the release of the abducted people. Claiming that he had received threats from unidentified people for this reason, Mamu announced that he would withdraw from mediation.

The government has reported that 170 of the people who were abducted after the attack have been rescued, while 146 people are still missing.

In a video released on July 24, the gunmen threatened that the hostages would be killed unless the ransom was paid.