BREAKING: Court rejects Mamu’s transfer request to Kuje prison

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the request by alleged terrorist negotiator, Mohammed Tukur Mamu, seeking his transfer from the custody of the Department of the State Service (DSS) to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Delivering the ruling on Monday, Justice Ekwo held that the Federal Government had raised the issue of incessant jailbreaks in prisons as a major ground to oppose the request for transfer to Kuje.

The judge added that Mamu did not contradict or dispute the averments as required by law.

According to the judge, since the averments were not challenged by Mamu, they are deemed to be facts and facts admitted need no further proof.

The judge subsequently ordered Mamu to remain in DSS custody throughout his trial for the criminal charges against him.

Justice Ekwo, however, affirmed his earlier order that he should be allowed to access his physician for medical treatment with the supervision of the DSS.

Mamu, through his lawyer, had on April 29, alleged that the order of the court made on December 19, 2023, that he be allowed access to his physician for medical treatment was not complied with by the DSS.

In his motion on notice, the alleged terrorist negotiator claimed that he was allowed access to the physician once during which a report of comprehensive medical examination to be carried out on him was submitted to the DSS.

Since the submission of the report, Mamu alleged that the physician had not been allowed to have access to him and that he needed urgent surgical operations in any hospital in the country.

The defendant further claimed that his health had since deteriorated and that he may die if he was not moved out of DSS custody to Kuje Prison.

He promised regular attendance in court, adding that he can only stand trial when alive.

Mamu was arrested at the Aminu Kano International Airport upon his arrival from Egypt on September 6, 2022, over his alleged relationship with the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022.

The DSS, on March 21, 2023, arraigned him on 10 counts of terrorism financing, among others but he pleaded not guilty to the charges.