Publisher of Desert Herald Newspaper, Mallam Tukur Mamu has been forced to flee the country on self-exile over what he described as several threats to his life by the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Sen. Bala Muhammad and some of his key aides.
In an email he sent to media organisations minutes before boarding a flight to Niger Republic en-route to Dubai, Mamu said he would remain in Dubai and shuttle between that country and Saudi Arabia, and would only return to the country a week to the swearing in ceremony of President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.
LEADERSHIP had last week reported that there was a plot by Sen. Bala Muhammad, Ibrahim Bomoi, the minister’s spokesman, Nosike Ogbuenyi in collaboration with the police at the GI Department in Abuja to silence Mamu forever before they leave office on May 29.
Insiders at the FCTA had confided in our reporter that they see Mamu as a major threat that will hardly stop until he exposes with documentary evidence all their misrule and corruption at the FCTA after leaving office.
In the email he sent yesterday, Mamu said his decision to embark on self-exile became necessary, following several threats to his life via phone calls, strange visits to his office and residence and a grand “plot to plant incriminating ‘evidence’ in his house, office etc by the embattled FCT Minister, Bala MUHD, Ibrahim BOMOI & their accomplices in the Police recently”.
Besides, the publisher added that he was “strongly advised by respected Nigerians, the South Africa-based Protection Rights of Journalists of Africa (PRJA), Marseille based Intl NGO, D International Network for the Liberty of Expression & Human Rights, to leave the country immediately”.
He, however, vowed to return and continue “to pursue all verified dossiers against corrupt federal government officials particularly that of FCTA officials until justice is done to Nigerians”.
Mamu noted that in view of similar failed fabrication of certificate forgery against Buhari, which he alleged, was being funded by the same FCTA officials that are trailing him, “it has become obvious to them that they will not succeed in implicating him in that regard”, hence the latest threat to silence him before the new government takes over by all means.
He said despite the threats, “the management of DESERT HERALD has made adequate arrangements to continue with its newspaper publication and asked Nigerians to pray for the company and for peaceful transfer of power to Buhari.
