Concerned Civil Society Network has urged the federal government not to allow the embattled publisher of Kaduna-based Desert Herald Newspaper, Tukur Mamu die while in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS), saying he should be allowed to see his personal doctor.
The convener, Comrade Abdul Bako Usman at a press briefing in Kaduna specifically appealed to president Bola Tinubu, vice president Kashim Shettima, and the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to allow Mamu access to his private doctor due to his deteriorating health conditions.
According to Bako, “we as concerned Civil Society Network have decided to speak up after a long season of silence, in the face of an attempt to deny most Nigerians their fundamental human rights by forces that be as Tukur Mamu is equally not an exceptional.
“It is almost two years now, that the publisher, a journalist, and most of all, a Nigerian who was arrested and incarcerated for crimes concerning sponsorship of terrorism. Ordinarily, our organizations would have not spoken out but recent events have pushed us to.
“First, we are appalled (shocked) at the attempt to use media as the staging ground to tell the world that the publisher of Desert Herald Newspaper Mallam Tukur Mamu is one of the financiers of terrorism.
“We found it very degrading and even a contempt of court for some elements within the federal government to label Mamu a sponsor of terrorists when no competent court of law has done so.
“He was invited to help at a time when the government and the security agencies were helpless and had no clue how to go about it.
“Since his arrest nearly two years ago, the federal government was yet to bring any evidence linking him with terrorists or terrorism activities apart from the negotiation and issue of ransom.”
