The family of Tukur Mamu, the publisher of the Desert Herald Newspaper, has made a passionate appeal to President Bola Tinubu and other top government officials to intervene in his case and grant him administrative bail.
Mr Mamu, who has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) since September 6, 2022, is facing charges of sedition, criminal defamation and cybercrime for publishing articles that allegedly tarnished the image of some prominent Nigerians.
However, his family said he is suffering from a serious respiratory condition that requires an urgent surgery, which he was on his way to do in Cairo before his arrest.
In a statement dated December 12 and signed by his six children, Faisal, Zainab, Usama, Nazir, Kashim and Marwan Tukur Mamu, the family pleaded for mercy and compassion from President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other well-meaning Nigerians.
“We are not seeking for the discontinuation of our father’s trial but we are passionately pleading for your good office and for you as a loving and responsible father to please grant our father administrative bail so that he will urgently do the much-needed surgery,” the statement said.
The family noted that Mamu has a well-documented history of respiratory ailments, which forced him to travel to Egypt for medical treatment several times before his arrest and incarceration.
“As a result of this medical condition, his Indian doctor had recommended that the use of a medical device in the night during his sleep to avoid sudden heart failure or heart attack
“Futhermore, the implanting of the device was a temporary measure, as it was recommended that he goes for a major surgery that would correct this respiratory imbalance.
“According to his doctor, a significant part of his respiratory system has been blocked, so surgery is urgently required.
“This recommendation and conclusion was about three years ago. It was eventually arranged for him to travel and have the surgery in Cairo; it was in that process and on transit to do the surgery that he was arrested on September 6, 2022,” the statement said.
Mamu’s children said their father’s health has deteriorated further while in detention, as he collapsed three times and was admitted at the SSS hospital twice, but could not get adequate treatment due to the lack of an ENT specialist and facility.
The family said they submitted the complete medical report of Mr Mamu’s ailment to the SSS, with a request that he be allowed to go for treatment, but the appeal was rejected.
They added that even if the passport of their father would not be released, they would be willing to take the risk and do the surgery for him in Nigeria.
The family also apologised to anyone whom their father may have offended in the course of his journalism career, and asked for forgiveness.
“We also apologise for any article considered offensive and for any psychological trauma that our father’s newspaper may have caused anyone. We are using this medium to appeal for forgiveness,” they said.
The family urged the authorities to consider the humanitarian aspect of their father’s case and grant him bail on compassionate grounds.
They also called on the media, civil society organisations, human rights groups and the general public to support their cause and help save their father’s life.