According to a source, Mr Tukur Mamu, a
popular newspaper publisher in Kaduna has been arrested.
Desert Herald’s publisher was apprehended by 6
armed Nigerian police officers yesterday from his office in Kaduna around 2pm.
Mamu's arrest was said to be sequel to the orders
of a magistrates’ court in a case filed by the minister of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, and one Ibrahim Bamoi
against the publisher.
Tukur Mamu has been having a running battle with
Mohammed over his (Mamu) insistence on publishing a book entitled “FCT
Administration: The Rot Within!” which is about the administration of Mohammed
as the FCT minister.
Mohammed had filed a case against the propriety of
the publication of the book before an Abuja high court which is still pending
before the court.
It was also gathered that
when Mamu’s lawyer,
family and members of staff went to the police headquarters in Kaduna to seek
his release, they were told that the publisher had been moved to the Police CID
in Garki, Abuja.
A committee had been inaugurated on June 27, 2013,
by the NUJ national president, Muhammad Garba, to look into the matter,
following a petition submitted to the NUJ by the special assistant, media, to
the FCT minister, Mr Nosike Ogbuenyi, against the publisher.
But Mamu had, in an open letter dated June 29 to
the NUJ national president and published on page 17 of Leadership Newspaper on Monday,
July 1, given some conditions which must be met before he could appear before
the committee.
The letter reads in part, “That for me to
participate in the proceedings, the NUJ should reconsider the composition of
the three-man committee for the sake of fairness, transparency and to give
credibility to the outcome of their report. Only one out of the three members,
Mr Akin Orimolade, is independent of government (working with a private paper)
while the other two are currently under the payroll of federal and state
governments.”
“Membership of such a sensitive committee, with the
desperation and resources at the disposal of our detractors, should be highly
independent stakeholders with years of experience and record of proven
integrity and honesty.”
“I also suggest, but not as part of my condition to
participate, that your good office should increase the members of the committee
as three members only can easily be manipulated and may not do a thorough job
within only one week of their mandate. There is no justification rushing to
conclude a job of this nature; doing so will not only create suspicion but will
be detrimental to fairness and justice. The committee should be given
reasonable time to perform to the satisfaction of the two parties and
Nigerians.”
“That I will accept to participate and talk only in
the presence of the said petitioner, Sen. Bala Muhammad. As a fundamental
right, I want to sit face to face with the petitioner in person to enable me
ask him questions on the contents of his so-called petition against me to
ascertain the veracity or otherwise of his allegations. That the hearing should
be done in any secured place within Abuja or Kaduna and that the NUJ should
make a proper arrangement for my personal security during the proceedings
because, ever since the onslaught began, there have been several threats to my
life by the agents of the petitioner.”
“I want to assure your good office that as long as
all the above observations and conditions, which are purely fundamental human
rights and issues of due process and law that will benefit all the contending
parties are taken into cognizance, approved and applied and I am duly
communicated by your office in that regard with reasonable notice due to my
very tight schedules and engagements within and outside the country, I will be
ready to answer any allegation in your historic hearing.”
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