A student of the
National Open University of Nigeria, Abdulmalik Sa’idu, has been
languishing in a police cell for over 20 days on the orders of the
Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, for posting details of an
alleged fertiliser scam in the state on his Facebook timeline.
This was disclosed to reporters by Mr. Sa’idu’s family and lawyer. Abdulmalik was first
invited to the Katsina Government House on August 28 by a phone caller
who claimed he had a message for him. But when Abdulmalik arrived at the
governor’s office, he was promptly arrested, handcuffed and taken to
Batagarawa Police Station just outside the state capital, Katsina, and
detained on the orders of Mr. Shema’s aide-de-camp, Shehu Koko, a Deputy
Superintendent of Police, DSP.
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT...............................
According to his
father, Maiyawo Sa’idu, while the young student was not charged with any
offence, he was accused of cloning the governor’s phone number and
using same to call the state Commissioner for Local Government and
Chieftaincy Affair, Sani Makana, with instructions that Mr. Makana
deposit N3 million in his account. Mr. Sa’idu said his son was
innocent.
He said if indeed
Abdulmalik cloned the governor’s number to dupe a commissioner he
wouldn’t be tricked to come to the Government House to be arrested.
“I think they are
trying to frame him. I know my son cannot clone the governor’s number
and call a commissioner to put three million into his account,” Mr.
Saidu told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said Abdulmalik was
arrested because he posted details of an alleged fertiliser scam by the
governor on his Facebook page. Mr. Saidu said prior to his son’s illegal
detention, some officials of the state government had warned his son to
desist from criticising the governor on Facebook. On one occasion, the
General Manager of Katsina State Road Maintenance Agency, Jamilu Umar,
threatened to pay N2 million to thugs or policemen to kill Abdulmalik if
he doesn’t stop criticising the governor publicly, Mr. Saidu said.
Governor Shema’s Chief Press Secretary, Sani Malumfashi, rejected
repeated calls made to his mobile phone after calls were made to his
phone.
Mr. Ajayi said as a
lawyer, the governor should realise that he was breaking the law by
holding the boy beyond 48 hours on a “frivolous claim.” “The governor is
a lawyer, his deputy is a lawyer and the attorney general is a lawyer
and they all know that it is wrongful of them to arrest someone and keep
him in detention for more than 48 hours on a frivolous claim that the
boy cloned the governor’s number and wanted to collect N3 million and
some other concocted allegations which are not proven. And they now kept
the boy incommunicado. His family cannot reach him, and these days
because of the security situation in the north, he could be killed,” he
added.
Mr. Ajayi warned that if
Abdulmalik was not released he was going to send a petition to the
National Human Rights Commission and the Inspector General of Police.
The DPO of Batagarawa declined to talk to PREMIUM TIMES after he was
asked on whose orders Abdulmalik was being held beyond the 48 hours
stipulated by law. The Police PRO, Abubakar Sadiq, also refused to
return several calls after promising to find out the details of the
case.
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