A witness presented by the Department of State Service (DSS) on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that Tukur Mamu, who is standing trial on alleged terrorism funding was not at any time appointed by the Federal government to negotiate with terrorists that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train in 2022.
The witness who is also an operative of the DSS, said that Mamu sidelined the committee established by the Chief of Defence Staff to negotiate for the release of those abducted during the March 28, 2022 train attack.
Led in evidence by DSS lawyer, David Kaswe, the witness whose identity was not made public for security reasons, pointedly said that Mamu “was not mandated by the government to engage in any form of investigation or negotiation with terrorists, and stressed that the defendant acted on his own for his personal benefit.
The witness also alleged that Mamu encouraged terrorists to discuss ransom payments with victims, collected money on their behalf, confirmed amounts, and “facilitated the payments illegally.”
The witness further claimed that Tukur Mamu benefited financially from the ransom negotiations just as he possessed firearms unlawfully, and also provided terrorists with information on how to create a website.
The witness also said that huge money recovered from the Kaduna residence of Tukur Mamu exceeded the threshold permitted by law, adding that the defendant’s lifestyle “changed significantly” during the negotiation period.
In the words of the witness; “He was arrested in the company of four family members while on a trip to Egypt, and he bought two flashy cars during the negotiation period”.
During cross-examination, the defence counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, challenged several aspects of the DSS investigation as he questioned whether the DSS, which has operatives at all Nigerian airports, verified how the defendant and his family travelled to Egypt to which the witness replied that he was not aware of their travel details, but confirmed that Mamu’s passport was in DSS custody.
When asked if he was a diligent investigator, the witness affirmed that he was, though he admitted he did not open the defendant’s passport during the investigation, as it was not necessary since he worked with a preliminary report.
The defence also queried inconsistencies regarding the negotiation process as Usman suggested that the terrorists asked victims to propose negotiators, and victims suggested several names.
The witness said while the victims introduced names, it was only the defendant (Mamu) that agreed to engage with the terrorists, even as he stressed that Mamu was not part of the CDS committee.
Usman further pressed the witness on hostage releases during the crisis, saying that before Mamu’s involvement, only one hostage was released.
After listening to the cross examination, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar adjourned further cross examination of the witness to January 29, 2026.
