The Federal Government requested that the Federal High Court in Abuja approve its request to safeguard the names of the witnesses scheduled to testify against alleged terrorist collaborator Tukur Mamu.
Mamu, a publisher and cleric from Kaduna, is being tried in connection with the terror attack on the Kaduna-Abuja train in March of last year, which resulted in the deaths of at least eight people and the kidnapping of numerous others for ransom.
Mamu, who was arraigned in March of this year, is charged with 10 offenses that, among other things, have to do with financing terrorism.
He was charged with accepting $120,000 in ransom money from the relatives of the railway assault hostages on behalf of the Boko Haram militants.
Mamu was also charged with exchanging voice-notes with a Boko Haram spokesperson named Baba Adamu regarding terrorist acts.
Additionally, he was charged with dealing in $300,000 in terrorist money that were allegedly discovered in his possession.
However, the defendant entered a not guilty plea to the accusations.
Attorney General of the Federation D.E. Kaswe’s attorney filed an ex parte request for an injunction to protect the witnesses’ identities before Justice Inyang Ekwo on Wednesday.
The Federal Government requested, in a document seen by the News Agency of Nigeria, “an order of this honourable court shielding the physical identity of the prosecution witnesses by wearing facial masks and/or the use of screen whenever prosecution witnesses are testifying.”
Additionally, the prosecution asked the court to order that all prosecution witnesses assume a pseudonym and have their true identities and addresses deleted throughout the course of this case.
The government’s attorney also asked for a ruling “excluding persons other than parties and their legal representatives at the hearing of the above-named charge except for members of the accredited press.”
The motion was approved as requested by Justice Ekwo in a judgment.
Mamu, the only defendant in the charge, was not present when the case was called earlier.
The court was then informed by Kaswe that Mamu and the security personnel were still traveling.
He pleaded with the judge to adjourn the case because the parties were still traveling.
The judge, however, rejected the application and made the remark, “Do you think this is a stand-down court? This application is turned down.
The trial was then set to begin on July 21 after the case was again postponed.