The SSS arrested Tukur Mamu over his alleged relationship with terrorists involved in last year's attack on a Kaduna-bound train.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, rejected the bail application filed by Tukur Mamu, who was arrested seven months ago over his alleged relationship with terrorists that were involved in last year's attack on a Kaduna-bound train.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, said in his ruling that Mr Mamu's grounds of ill-health were not cogent enough to grant bail to the defendant facing terrorism-related charges.
He also cited Mr Mamu's failure to debunk the claims contained in the counter-affidavit filed to oppose his bail application by the State Security Service (SSS), the agency keeping him in custody.
Mr Mamu was arrested based on his suspicious relationship with the terrorists involved in the March 2022 train attack along the Abuja-Kaduna railway.
At least eight people died in the attack while 168 people were declared missing, most of whom were believed to have been kidnapped.
The remaining 23 kidnapped victims only regained their freedom after six months in captivity on 5 October 2022, following the federal government'sintervention.
Mr Mamu, who is accused of receiving ransom from families of the victims of the train attack on behalf of the terrorists, was arrested by Interpol in Cairo, Egypt, on behalf of the Nigerian government on 6 September 2022.
While he was being held in Cairo, the State Security Service (SSS) raided his Kaduna residence and office. The SSS claimed that it recovered military uniforms and an amount of money during the raid.
Mr Mamu, who also doubled as the spokesperson of the Kaduna-based cleric, Ahmad Gumi, was arrested by the SSS on 7 September afternoon at the Aminu Kano International Airport in North-west Nigeria upon his arrival from Egypt.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SSS, on 21 March, arraigned Mr Mamu on 10 counts of terrorism financing, among others.
Mr Mamu pleaded not guilty to the counts and subsequently prayed the court for a bail on the grounds of ill-health. The SSS opposed the bail application.
Ruling
Mr Ekwo said, although Mr Mamu averred that the SSS cannot take care of his health challenges, including "cardiac decomposition" and "thyro-cardiac disease", the issue would not be the court's only consideration in exercising its discretion.
He said these other factors the court would consider include the availability of appropriate or adequate or peculiar medical care where the defendant/applicant is in custody.
"Again, the court will weigh the evidence to see whether the custodians allow the applicant requisite access to medical treatment peculiar to his medical condition.
"The court will also take into account the attitude of the defendant/applicant to the medical facility provided to him by his custodian.
"Where there is a medical facility by the custodian of the defendant which can adequately take care of the medical condition of the defendant, then the application for bail on medical grounds will not be countenanced by the court," he said.
Besides, he said where the custodian does not have the medical facility to take care of the medical condition of the defendant but is capable of ensuring that the defendant has access to a medical facility suitable for his medical condition, the court would not grant the bail.
"Now, where the defendant willfully rejects the medical facility given to him by his custodian merely for the fact that such facility is not up to the standard that he expects, then, he has no good medical grounds for application for bail.
"A defendant who is in the custody of the state or agency of the state like the complainant/respondent (SSS) must understand that his medical care is at the expense of the state and must be reasonable in his demands," the judge said.
Mr Ekwo observed that it was averred that it was after Mr amu declined SSS' medical services that he was taken to Arewa Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Center, Jabi by the security outfit.
"There, adequate tests and treatments were administered at the expense of the complainant/applicant (DSS) and he was diagnosed with (Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea) and use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) was recommended among other options at the hospital.
He said the DSS, however, averred that the hospital was sufficiently capable of handling the medical condition of the defendant and that it was able and willing to take responsibility for the treatment of Mr Mamu.
He said the agency also undertook to ensure that Mr Mamu had access to his daily medication for the management of his pre-existing health condition as well as ensuring access to adequate tests and treatments when necessary, during the trial.
"With this undertaking, this application for bail on medical grounds does not hold water.
"In such a situation where the custodian has demonstrated that it is capable of giving the Defendant in its custody access to appropriate and adequate medical facility, it is for the court to exercise its supervisory power over the medical treatment of the defendant while in custody and in the course of trial," he said.
The judge held that in exercising his discretion on application for bail on allegations contained in a charge sheet punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding three years, "the discretion of the court to grant bail will not be exercised in favour of the defendant where any of the conditions in Section 162 of the ACJA 2015 Is established."
He said upon considering the nature of the offence on the charge sheet before the court and the fact that Mamu did not rebut the allegation of breach of terms of bail, he was persuaded by the grounds given by the DSS for the court not to exercise discretion to grant bail as prayed by Mr Mamu.
"This application is consequently refused and Is hereby struck out. This is the order of this court," Mr Ekwo declared.
Mr Mamu's lawyer, Sani Katu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had filed his client's bail application dated 8 March and supported by 21-paragraph affidavit. The bail application was opposed by the federal government through its lawyer, Aderonke Imana, an Assistant Chief State Counsel.
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Charges
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Mamu was arrested on reasonable suspicion of financing Boko Haram terrorism activities.
He was then charged by the federal government on terrorism-related charges.
He was alleged to have, among others, convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the federal government for his personal financial gain.
He was said to have been nominated by the terrorists that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train sometime in March 2022, which took scores of persons hostage.
Mr Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorists from families of hostages, confirmed the amount and facilitated the delivery of the same to the terrorists.
He was said to be in possession of large sums of unexplained cash and property that he tried to conceal upon arrest by directing his proxies to change their locations.
Though Mamu was said to have denied these allegations, witness and victim statements and the investigation by the security outfit was said to have revealed a prima facie case against him.
