TUKUR Mamu, a media consultant to controversial Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi, has said the attack on the Kuje Prison was carried out by the terrorists that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train.
Some passengers were killed, and several others abducted when terrorists attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28. Many of the abducted passengers are still held captive.
Mamu, who is the publisher of Kaduna-based Desert Herald Newspaper and lead negotiator for the release of the abducted Abuja-Kaduna train passengers, claimed the terrorist group that attacked the train hinted him about the attack on the Kuje Prison.
He also claimed he passed the information to security agencies. But, according to him, they did not act on the information he provided.
The ICIR reported that gunmen attacked the Kuje Prison on Tuesday night and successfully operated for hours.
Over 800 inmates, including members of the Boko Haram group, reportedly fled the facility during the attack.
Mamu said, “On the tendency and threat to attack targets and other facilities of interest like the Kuje Correctional Centre, I have shared that intelligence with the security agencies and the committee that was constituted by CDS Gen. Lucky Irabo.
“I can confirm without a doubt that the Kuje Correctional Centre attack was executed and coordinated by the same group that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train because they gave indications of imminent attacks to that effect which I shared.”
He added that the terror group requested the release of 51 members, but the request was scaled down to 10 after negotiations.
“For the records, they requested for the release of 51 of their members. But through the power of dialogue and engagement, I was able to singlehandedly scale that number to only 10 and communicated with audio backing the development to the relevant authorities.
“There was an unnecessary delay on giving them even precise feedback by the government, and now they have not only succeeded in carrying out another successful attack that indicts the nature of our intelligence and capacity to respond promptly but has also succeeded in releasing dozens of their members which would have been averted if the action has been taken to give them only ten and secure the release of the train victims.
“In all this risky, painful and frustrating engagement which government is yet to acknowledge and appreciate, I have more than 100 documented audios that I shared with the relevant authorities. For the purpose of this important press release and to authenticate my claims, I will also share four of the latest audios,” he added.
On the train hostages, he said after the successful mission that led to the release of 11 out of the 61 in captivity, he made up his mind to disengage from the negotiation, which the government never appreciated.
“I was instructed on humanitarian grounds by my principal, Sheikh Dr Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, to exercise patience and continue.
“This is probably the last I will ever dabble on the above subject matter because of the frustrations and failure of relevant official stakeholders to take prompt and painful decisions in the interest of the citizens of a nation that has been consumed by insecurity and avoidable attacks.
“With all the billions in budgetary allocations on security, with instances of few becoming billionaires at the expense of innocent lives, we must accept the fact that the current system has collapsed,” Mamu stressed.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock at the “scale and audacity of the attack” by gunmen on the Kuje Prison in Abuja.
A statement released by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari visited the prison on Wednesday, hours after suspected Boko Haram members attacked it on Tuesday night.
Kuje is 33 kilometres (20 miles) from the heart of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
A reporter with the ICIR
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