DSS Arrests Journalist At Kano Airport

Some operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have whisked away the Editor-in-chief of the popular Hausa newspaper, Almizan, Malam Ibrahim Musa in Kano.

Musa, who was on his way to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj Umrah, accompanied by a family member Binta Sulaiman, was taken away by Nigeria’s secret police at the Aminu Kano International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday.

Speaking in a statement on behalf of the family signed by Abdullahi Usman, no reason was given to the family by the security agents who left behind the person he was with.

The family calls on the the authorities to unconditionally release Musa and ensure he is safe.

“Meanwhile, no reasons have been provided by the authorities for his abduction even as he is known for his role in the call for the release of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), who was arrested at the wake of a clampdown and extrajudicial killing of about 1000 of his followers by the Nigerian government in 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna state.

“He was part of the campaign that got the Federal High Court judgement ordering the release and compensation of Sheikh Zakzaky, the leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria, for which it is believed the security agents who lost in the case are displeased.

“Human rights organizations, especially the Amnesty International (AI), had pressured the immediate past Governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasiru Elrufai to publicly announce that his government had buried about 350 people killed in the extrajudicial killing in a mass grave at Mando village in Kaduna.

“Ibrahim Musa is known to have been active in speaking against the acts of state terrorism, extrajudicial killings and marginalization of a minority group of Muslims by the Nigerian Government under president Muhammadu Buhari.

“He placed his life on the line to ensure justice is done and thousands of those arrested following the state managed mass murder were released by the government using available judicial means.

“We wish to call for the immediate release and safety of Malam Ibrahim Musa whose only crime is standing against genocide and disregard to law and order perpetrated by those in power under the Buhari regime.

“We also wish to draw the attention of the authorities and other stakeholders to the dangers behind extending the murder activities in which innocent men, women and children were extrajudicially killed by the immediate past regime, to the current regime of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu.

“We want to believe that the current government of President Bola Tinubu would not want to identify itself with the abuse of democratic tenets, human rights abuse and intimidation through genocide perpetrated by the immediate past regime” part of the statement reads.