Buhari’s administration is championing impunity-his body language is encouraging a new trend of silencing critics who demand better leadership and accountability.
So many have been locked up, abducted, silently killed, these are just a few we know about because they are prominent critics
Dadiyata- Abducted
Abducted for 58 days – (at the time of writing), Prominent Critic of Kano State Governor
Real name Abubakar Idris, He was last seen on August 1, Armed men entered his residence in Barnawa neighborhood at about 1:00 a.m. on August 2, his wife told reporters He was returning home when the attackers, said to be armed and on red caps, swooped on him and took him away in his BMW vehicle.
One month later, neither Mr Idris nor his car had been found. Initial insinuations that he might have been arrested by the dreaded State Security Service was later denied by the agency, leaving his family in agony. There is no call for ransome, no apparent robbery attempt in his home- nothing. The police also claim they have done their best to find him.
How Dadiyata took to activism
The former governor of Kano State Rabiu Kwankwaso sponsored thousands of Kano indigenes to further their studies abroad- all expense paid. He made sure that he selected the poorest of indigenes to participate .One of the beneficiaries of Kwankwaso free education was Dadiyata.
Growing up poor with no connections in government but still accessing free education was all it took to birth a radical and fearless activist
Dadiyata 34, now a university lecturer spent the rest of his days advocating good governance, this put him at loggerheads with present Kano State Governor Ganduje who rolled back on all the progress made by kwankwaso- including free primary and Secondary education.
Till today people are still asking where is Dadiyata
Omoleye Sowore –Arrested by the DSS
Arrested by the DSS for the past 54 days , Prominent critic of the Buhari administration; convener revolution now, Editor in chief Sahara Reporters
Prior to his abduction, Sowore had started a movement tagged “Revolution Now” with the orange beret as a symbol and urged Nigerians to take to the streets to protest bad governance.
On the 3rd of August 2019, Sowore was kidnapped from his home by masked men- said to be the DSS. The CCTV footage released days after his arrest showed they were heavily armed
When he was taken, the DSS did not release a statement immediately and his friends and allies had to depend on informants in the DSS for information on his whereabouts.
On Friday, September 20, the Federal Government charged Omoyele Sowore with all sorts of erroneous offences including treason and money-laundering- and insulting the president.
The court recently granted him bail thanks to the assiduous efforts of his lawyer Femi Falana- but will the president obey court orders?
The world is watching.
Jones Abiri-Forcefully Arrested by the DSS
Publisher weekly source Magazine Yenogoa. very critical of the Buhari administration and Bayelsa state government. been in out of jail for the past 3 years , very recently he has been jailed for the past 6 months,
Jones Abiri is a London trained investigative journalist from Yenagoa. His weekly magazine details corruption within the oil sector in Bayelsa. He publishes corrupt practices in details occasionally placing calls to oil companies to verify stories.
Buhari’s administration has been very tough on him. On July 10 2016, he wrote an article claiming that the military was planning a coup against President Buhari, few days later about 9 DSS officers forcefully arrested him accusing him of being a militant
He spent two years in jail without trial, charges or access to a lawyer or his family until an Abuja magistrate court struck out charges against him in August of 2017 .
In a separate legal decision on September 13 2018, a federal high court in Abuja held that the DSS detention of Abiri was illegal and violated his fundamental human rights. The court ordered the federal government to pay Abiri 10.5 million naira (US$29,000) in damages and litigation fees.
Few months after on March 31st 2019, men of the DSS arrested him again in his yenagoa office.
He was arrested on gun point and the police threatened to shoot if he ran away, they took him away in a Hilux van- He remains in jail till date
Steven Kefas- Set up and Arrested by the police (140 days in detention)
Social Media activist critical of Kaduna State Governor El-Rufai and his handling of the southern Kaduna Killings. He is based in Portharcourt.
He reported the issues going on in Kaduna without fear of retribution even though he kept receiving death threats
Stephen Kefason’s activism on southern Kaduna Killings especially the Kajuru bloodshed approached a standstill on May 8, 2019 . He received a phone call from a familiar voice who pleaded with him for a quick meeting at a specified venue, unknown to him it was a set up- the police picked him up and whisked him to the station.He was transferred to Kaduna station the following morning
“He is accused of injurious publication, incitement and false accusation” All efforts for a bail hearing was promptly frustrated
Stephen Kefas arrest was motivated after he shared a Sahara-reporters exclusive story which was damaging to the Kaduna State Goverment. The Sahara reporters story of 9th May 2019, detailed activities that led to the killing of a popular Kaduna Mornach Agom Adara, How Christian elders and community leaders were arrested and later dumped in the Kaduna State Prisons, On the massacre and maiming of southern Kaduna Christians blamed on the State Government’s complicity and security agencies’ bias, collusion and inaction or gross incompetence.
Agba Jalingo
Editor of Cross-Rivers State Watch, has been incarcerated for 37 days
CrossRiversWatch is an online publication that focuses on Cross Rivers State and the surrounding region. They monitor and report closely on the activities of the State Government and other stories within the region.
The Chief Editor of the online publication was arrested in his Lagos residence on Thursday 22nd August after publishing an article revealing how Governor Ben Ayade allegedly approved and diverted N500m meant for Cross River Micro-finance Bank.
The next day authorities transferred Jalingo to a detention facility run by the anti-cult and anti-kidnapping police in Calabar, the capital of Nigeria’s southern Cross River state.
The police in Cross River State charged Jalingo with disturbance of public peace and treason for his writings and social media posts about the controversial Cross River Governor, Mr. Benedict Ayade. Authorities also charged him with two counts of terrorism, stemming from his alleged plans to work with Omoyele Sowore to “commit acts of terrorism” to remove Ayade from office, according to the charge sheet.
In a country where many have given up, relocated, or just dont care anymore, lets always appreciate those few who still care enough to monitor our politics and speak the truth to power at a very personal cost.
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