Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the arrest and continued detention of Abubakar Isah Mokwa, a postgraduate student of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Niger State, describing it as a “dangerous sign of growing intolerance and repression” in Nigeria.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Saturday morning, Atiku wrote, “It has come to my attention that Abubakar Isah Mokwa, a post-graduate student of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), has been arrested and detained for over a week for merely expressing his opinion about Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State,”
He expressed outrage that the student has been detained for over a week “merely for expressing his opinion” about Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State.
“This development is both outrageous and unacceptable,” Atiku said. “It is a dangerous sign of how far our country has descended into intolerance and repression, where citizens’ rights are trampled and dissenting voices are silenced under the guise of enforcing the so-called Cybercrimes Act.”
The former Vice President argued that the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act was increasingly being misused by authorities to target critics and political opponents, noting that defamation remains a civil matter and should not attract criminal prosecution.
“Let it be clear: defamation is a civil matter, not a criminal offence. To weaponise it for political witch-hunts is a betrayal of justice and a grave assault on democracy itself,” Atiku stated.
He accused the ruling party of turning the law into an instrument of oppression, saying, “The ruling party’s misuse of state power to intimidate citizens, journalists, and the opposition through arbitrary arrests has become a shameful routine that must stop.”
Atiku described the continued incarceration of Abubakar Mokwa and others detained under similar circumstances as an assault on free speech and civil liberty, calling it “tyranny in disguise” that “has no place in a free society.”
“I demand his immediate and unconditional release and urge all well-meaning Nigerians to rise in defence of free speech and civil liberty,” he said.
He further urged lawmakers to repeal or comprehensively amend the Cybercrimes Act, which he said has been “a convenient tool for gagging citizens and waging war against democracy, freedom, and dissent.”
“Cyberstalking and cyberbullying must never be used as a smokescreen to muzzle critics or suppress truth,” he added. “Our nation already has adequate laws to address defamation without resorting to such draconian tactics.”
Concluding his statement, the former Vice President warned that “history will not be kind to those who criminalise truth.”
Atiku’s remarks followed widespread condemnation from civil society groups, including the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), which has also demanded Mokwa’s release and accused the authorities of violating his constitutional right to freedom of expression.
