The family of the publisher of the Desert Herald Newspaper, Tukur Mamu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to grant Mr Mamu administrative bail to enable him undergo an urgent surgery.
The appeal was contained in a statement dated December 12 and signed by the publisher’s six children, Faisal, Zainab, Usama, Nazir, Kashim and Marwan Tukur Mamu.
In the statement, titled “A Passionate Appeal for Mercy,” the family said the plea became necessary in view of their father’s deteriorating health.
“On behalf of the family of Tukur Mamu, we, the children of the above-mentioned person, call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to please, in the name of God Almighty and in the name of humanity to wade in on the continuous detention of our father and help ensure his bail.
“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.
According to the family, their father 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.
“While under DSS detention and because of the same medical crisis, he collapsed three times and was admitted at DSS hospital two times, but because they don’t have an ENT specialist and facility in their medical centre, they graciously took him to another medical centre,” the family said.
The children further explained that the complete medical report of Mr Mamu’s ailment was handed over to officers of the State Security Service, SSS, with request that he be allowed to go for treatment, but the appeal was rejected.
“Futhermore, our father’s two years in the custody of the DSS have complicated his health challenges as he developed high blood pressure.
“It is in light of this that we make the following passionate appeal,” the statement said.
They submitted that even if the passport of their father would not released, they will be willing to take the risk and do the surgery for him here in Nigeria.
“Finally, we, the children of Tukur Mamu, wish to tender our unreserved apologies to anyone whom our father may have offended in the discharge of his duties as a media practitioner.
“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 appealed.
