Katsina Gov Arrests NOUN Student For Criticising him on facebook Katsina State Goverment has reportedly arrested NOUN Student for criticizing him on Facebook. student of the National Open University of Nigeri Abdulmalik Sa’idu, has been languishing in a polic cell for over 20 days on the orders of the Governo of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, for posting detail of an alleged fertiliser scam in the state on hi Facebook timeline. Read the full details of the news as reported b Premium Times: A student of the National Open University of Nigeri Abdulmalik Sa’idu, has been languishing in a polic cell for over 20 days on the orders of the Governo of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, for posting detail of an alleged fertiliser scam in the state on hi Facebook timeline. This was disclosed to PREMIUM TIMES by Mr. Sa’idu’ family and lawyer. Abdulmalik was first invited to the Katsin Government House on August 28 by a phone calle who claimed he had a message for him. But when Abdulmalik arrived at the governor’ office, he was promptly arrested, handcuffed an taken to Batagarawa Police Station just outside th state capital, Katsina, and detained on the orders o Mr. Shema’s aide-de-camp, Shehu Koko, a Deput Superintendent of Police, DSP. According to his father, Maiyawo Sa’idu, while th young student was not charged with any offenc he was accused of cloning the governor’s phon number and using same to call the stat Commissioner for Local Government an Chieftaincy Affair, Sani Makana, with instruction that Mr. Makana deposit N3 million in his account. Mr. Sa’idu said his son was innocent. He said i indeed Abdulmalik cloned the governor’s numbe to dupe a commissioner he wouldn’t be tricked t come to the Government House to be arrested. “I think they are trying to frame him. I know m son cannot clone the governor’s number and call commissioner to put three million into his account, Mr. Saidu told PREMIUM TIMES. He said Abdulmalik was arrested because h posted details of an alleged fertiliser scam by th governor on his Facebook page. Mr. Saidu said prior to his son’s illegal detentio some officials of the state government had warne his son to desist from criticising the governor o Facebook. On one occasion, the General Manager of Katsin State Road Maintenance Agency, Jamilu Uma threatened to pay N2 million to thugs or policeme to kill Abdulmalik if he doesn’t stop criticising th governor publicly, Mr. Saidu said. Governor Shema’s Chief Press Secretary, Sa Malumfashi, rejected repeated calls made to hi mobile phone after this reporter told him he wa calling about Abdumalik’s case. The Saidus’ case comes days after global right group, Amnesty International, released a damnin report accusing the Nigerian police of arbitraril arresting, torturing and killing thousands o Nigerians without following legal process. The report accused the police of running “tortur chambers” where detainees are abused for mone or for confessions. The police dismissed the allegations as “falsehood and innuendos” saying the Force does not tolerat torture and that where it occurs, official responsible are sanctioned. But Abdulmalik’s arrest points to how widesprea arbitrary arrests have remained even for th flimsiest of reasons. Many such arrests are effecte on the directives of senior state officials, includin governors. In November 2012, a civil servant in Bauchi Stat who questioned the financial integrity of th governor, Isa Yuguda, was immediately dismisse on direct orders of the governor. In a Facebook post, Abbas Faggo had accused M Yuguda of corruption, questioning the source o funding of the governor’s son’s wedding whic took place then. Mr. Faggo was first suspended, and later arreste by the police. He was eventually arraigned befor the Chief Magistrate of the state for the sam offence. The judge, Adamu Madaki, struck out th case because “it was not properly filed.” A letter terminating Mr. Faggo’s appointmen signed by one Ibrahim Shehu for the Head o Service of the State, said his services were no longe needed. B arely a year after the Bauchi case, the Bayelsa Stat governor, Seriake Dickson, ordered the arrest of businessman, Tonye Okio, for also criticising him o Facebook. Mr. Okio, who was also a former Abuja Liaiso officer for Bayelsa State, was arrested on Octobe 26 at his Abuja residence. He was subsequentl blindfolded and driven to Bayelsa by the Speci Investigation Bureau, SIB. The police also stripped Mr. Okio of his mobil gadgets and all postings on his Facebook accoun about Mr. Dickson were deleted. Two days after his arrest, the Bayelsa polic released a statement that Mr. Okio was arrested fo “seditious publications against the Bayels governor”. “This is to inform the general public and the goo people of Bayelsa State in particular that the Bayels police command has succeeded in apprehendin one Tonye Okio ‘M’ of Otiokpoti, Ogbia Loc Government Area, Bayelsa State for the offence o seditious publications,” the police said in statement. “The suspects whose syndicat members are now at large will be appropriatel arraigned in court when investigation is complete.” Police detained Mr. Okio for 10 days without tri before his lawyer filed a case at a Bayelsa Hig Court demanding his fundamental rights be enforc and that he be charged to court if he has indee done anything wrong. A day before the case was to be heard, the polic charged Mr. Okio before a Magistrate Court fo defamatory publication against the Bayels governor. After taking his plea, the Magistrate Cour adjourned the case to November 21 for trial. Mr. Okio was eventually released after spending 8 days behind bars. Katsina family denied access to Abdulmalik In Katsina, Mr. Sa’idu said he is worried about th wellbeing of his son after relatives were abruptl stopped from seeing him a week into his bein detained. “For the first week they used to bring him out t me. He would eat in front of me and they woul take him back to the cell but for more than 12 day now, we have not seen him. They told me that the have a directive from above not to bring him t me,” he said. “The DPO (Divisional Police Officer) tol me they have a directive from the Governmen House not to bring him out for his family o anybody in Katsina to see him.” Akin Ajayi, a Kaduna based lawyer, who is helpin the family on the case, said the DPO of Batagaraw Police Station told him he had order from above no to release Abdulmalik on bail. “I spoke to the DPO of the Batagarawa Polic Station and he said he cannot do anything becaus it was an order from above,” he said. Mr. Ajayi said as a lawyer, the governor shoul realise that he was breaking the law by holding th boy beyond 48 hours on a “frivolous claim.” “The governor is a lawyer, his deputy is a lawye and the attorney general is a lawyer and they a know that it is wrongful of them to arrest someon and keep him in detention for more than 48 hour on a frivolous claim that the boy cloned th governor’s number and wanted to collect N million and some other concocted allegation which are not proven. And they now kept the boy incommunicado. Hi family cannot reach him, and these days because o the security situation in the north, he could b killed,” he added. Mr. Ajayi warned that if Abdulmalik was no released he was going to send a petition to th National Human Rights Commission and th Inspector General of Police. The DPO of Batagarawa declined to talk to PREMIU TIMES after he was asked on whose order Abdulmalik was being held beyond the 48 hour stipulated by law. The Police PRO, Abubakar Sadiq, also refused t return several calls after promising to find out th details of the case.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 13:26:46 +0000
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