The Federal Government has strongly opposed a fresh bail application filed by Kaduna-based publisher and alleged terrorist negotiator, Tukur Mamu, insisting that his continued detention is necessary for national security.
This comes despite arguments from his legal team citing serious health complications and the need for him to quickly seeks medical intervention.
Mamu, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since September 2022, is standing trial on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism financing and collusion with Boko Haram insurgents during the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train abduction saga.
At the resumed hearing before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday the 30th of June 2025, the defence counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), urged the court to grant his client bail, or alternatively, permit him access to specialized medical treatment.
Usman told the court that Mamu’s health condition had significantly deteriorated and that he had been advised by both his Nigerian and Egyptian doctors to undergo surgery.
He pleaded with the court to consider either granting bail or ordering that he be transferred to a hospital where he could receive the necessary medical attention.
But the prosecution counsel, David Kaswe, opposed the application, arguing that the request lacked merit and did not present any exceptional circumstances to warrant a reversal of the earlier bail refusal.
“The defendant is facing terrorism charges which are not ordinarily bailable,” Kaswe submitted. “
Mr. Mamu previously applied for bail and was denied. According to the prosecution, “No new or compelling facts have been brought before this court.”
Justice Ekwo reserved his ruling on the renewed bail application and adjourned the case till July 22, 2025, for a formal decision.
Mamu was arrested in Cairo, Egypt, in September 2022 and extradited to Nigeria, where he was accused of collecting ransom funds from families of train attack victims on behalf of Boko Haram. The Federal Government alleged he received sums including $420,000 and ₦21 million from negotiation efforts with terrorists.
The Department of State Services has held him in custody since then, maintaining that his release could jeopardize ongoing investigations and that he also poses a threat to national security.
With the case now adjourned until July 22, 2025, all eyes are on the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Justice Ekwo is expected to decide whether Mamu’s medical condition constitutes sufficient grounds to override the stringent legal standards typically applied to terrorism-related offences.
