FG Accuses Tukur Mamu, The Suspect In The Kaduna Rail Attack

The FG accuses Tukur Mamu, the suspect in the Kaduna rail attack, six BDC operators, and eight other people of funding terrorism.

The Federal Government claims to have identified 15 entities—six operators, businesses, and Bureau De Change—among them nine individuals and six BDCs. These entities are suspected of being involved in the financing of terrorism.

Details of the development were made public by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which named it “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024.”

The document disclosed that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee convened on March 18, 2024, during which certain persons and businesses were suggested for sanctions due to their association with the financing of terrorism.

“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, with the approval of the President, has thereupon designated the following individuals and entities to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List,” the document read in part.

One of the people named in the document was Tukur Mamu, a publisher from Kaduna. He is presently on trial by the Federal Government for his alleged involvement in the terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.

According to the affidavit, Mamu assisted in the funding of terrorism by accepting and distributing ransom payments totaling more than $200,000 to ISWAP militants in exchange for the captives' release from the Abuja-Kaduna train incident.

The person first gained notoriety in 2012, according to NFIU, as the Boko Haram branch from the North Central region.

Additionally, it stated that one of the people is the person who is suspected of attacking the Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja on July 5, 2022, and the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022.

Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladissudam, a terrorist organization linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, was identified as the group that the second person belonged to.

“The subject was trained and served under Muktar Belmokhtar, aka One Eyed Out, led Al-Murabtoun Katibat of AQIM in Algeria and Mali," the document clarified.

 “The individual specializes in designing terrorist clandestine communication code and he is also an Improvised Explosive Device expert.”

“The subject was also a gatekeeper to ANSARU leader, Mohammed Usman aka Khalid Al-Bamawi. Equally, he was a courier and travel guide to AQIM Katibat in the desert of Algeria and Mali. He is into carpentry. Subject fled Kuje Correctional Centre on July 5, 2022. He is currently at large,” NFIU said.

A prominent commander of the Islamic State of West Africa Province, or ISWAP, Okene, was named as the other.

The person first gained notoriety in 2012, according to NFIU, as the Boko Haram branch from the North Central region.

“The group is suspected of the attacks carried out around Federal Capital Territory and the South West Geographical Zone, including the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.”

According to a UAE court ruling, the same individual is purported to be the owner of companies and entities that facilitate the flow of terrorist financing from Dubai to Nigeria.

It was reported that another person earned N57 million in total between 2014 and 2017.

According to reports, one individual's accounts saw an influx of N61.4 billion and an outflow of N51.7 billion.

The paper further disclosed that organizations and individuals are obligated, pursuant to Section 54 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, to:

“(a) immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated persons and entities in your possession and report same to the Sanctions Committee;

“(b) report to the Sanctions Committee any assets frozen or actions taken in compliance with the prohibition requirements.

“(c) immediately file a Suspicious Transactions Report to the NFIU for further analysis on the financial activities of such an individual or entity; and

“(d) report as a Suspicious Transactions Report to the NFIU, all cases of name matching in financial transactions before or after receipt of this List.”

It said “The freezing obligation required above shall extend to

“(a) all funds or other assets that are owned or controlled by the designated persons and entities, and not only those that are tied to a particular act, plot, or threat of terrorism or terrorism financing;

“(b) those funds or other assets that are wholly or jointly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by designated persons or entities;

“(c) the funds or other assets derived or generated from funds or other assets owned or controlled directly or indirectly by designated persons or entities; and

“(d) funds or other assets of persons and entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of designated persons or entities.”