One of the negotiators of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims with bandits, Tukur Mamu, has said that he will no longer participate in dialogue with terrorists again as his life is in danger.
Mamu, an associate of Ahmad Gumi, the Kaduna-based controversial Islamic cleric, said he had received threats from negotiating with bandits and continuing with the task of negotiation without the backing of the government is dangerous.
He disclosed this in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday while speaking on the role played in the latest release of five hostages captured since March 28.
Mamu also revealed that no ransom was paid for the freedom of the hostages so far but negotiations and dialogue were instrumental, thereby, saying the government cannot fold its arms while the victims languish in captivity.
Mamu said: “We achieved that through dialogue, thorough negotiation and through the spirit of give and take. No matter what you do, just imagine this is my son or this is my mother or this is my brother spending all this period in captivity.
“I’m under serious pressure from some of them. They think the little we are doing is a show of incapacity of the military, which is not so. We are not criticising the military. We are not criticising the federal government. We are only advising them this is the right step to take especially in this very critical and unpredictable situation.
“I have announced my withdrawal from engaging with these people because I have my reasons. First when you are doing something as an army of one, even if you will succeed, the success will be very little. And in the situation where there is virtually no support from the government and no form of appreciation from the government. And in a situation whereby you are even being threatened in one way or the other, I think the best way in the corrupt system we have (is to withdraw).
“I’m not accusing anybody. I’m not accusing the security agencies. But, honestly what I have seen and the pressure I went through especially in the absence of government support, it will be very dangerous for me to continue this because one will even risk the tendency of losing his life not from the terrorists of course but from the corrupt society and then the tendency to even blackmail.”
Speaking about the ferocity of the bandits, Mamu said, “They are people with distorted religious beliefs. The blood they shed is even justified as long as you didn’t share their religious belief. Do we allow them until they start killing these people until we act?”
