A witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that terror kingpin “Shugaba,” leader of the group behind the 2022 Abuja–Kaduna train attack, offered alleged negotiator Tukur Mamu a ₦50 million personal share from ransom proceeds.
Testifying behind a screen for security reasons, the operative — the sixth prosecution witness (PW-6) — said the offer was captured in one of four voice notes extracted from Mamu’s phones and tablet after his arrest in Egypt and repatriation to Nigeria. The recordings, played in open court, also revealed the terrorists asking Mamu to teach them how to build websites for their operations.
According to the witness, the first recording contained Mamu fixing a date for ransom delivery. In the second, Shugaba praised Mamu’s “efforts” and instructed him to take ₦50 million from a tranche of ransom sent by families of kidnapped passengers. Another recording featured the group’s spokesperson, Baba Adamu, requesting public address equipment for their preaching activities — a request Mamu said he would consider.
The DSS investigator said Mamu acted as the terrorists’ preferred contact, allegedly persuading them to deal directly with families of hostages rather than with the Federal Government’s negotiation committee so he could personally profit from the ransom flow.
After Mamu was intercepted in Egypt, he reportedly called his in-law, Mubarak Tinja, instructing him to evacuate cash, vehicles and valuables from his Kaduna residence before security agents could conduct searches. A raid on the property and his office later uncovered large amounts of money in naira and foreign currencies, along with several cars — including a Toyota Camry (Muscle), Peugeot 5008, Lexus, Mercedes E350 and Hyundai — some of which investigators traced to separate hideouts.
The witness said the forensic analysis of Mamu’s Samsung tablet and two phones produced the incriminating voice notes, which Mamu admitted sending during interrogation. He also confirmed ownership of a pump-action gun recovered from his home, though investigators found that its licence expired in December 2021.
The court admitted multiple prosecution exhibits, including vehicle documents, the compact discs and flash drives containing the voice notes, eight statements written by Mamu, and video recordings of his interrogation. Statements from two kidnap victims were also admitted after the court was told the witnesses were too traumatised and afraid to appear.
Prosecuting counsel David Kaswe informed the court that he would file a formal application for the judge to inspect the recovered items physically.
Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the trial to November 26 at 11 a.m. for continuation.