HURIWA demands release of student allegedly arrested by Aisha Buhari

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA has demanded the immediate and unconditional release from arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention of an undergraduate of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Aminu Adamu

Adamu was allegedly arrested on the orders of Aisha, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari.

HURIWA described the alleged action of the wife of the president as an abuse of power and absolutely unconstitutional.

HURIWA is of the opinion that the reason insecurity has become overwhelming, so much so that the security forces are finding it difficult to defeat terrorists, is because the present government has consistently deployed security assets and manpower to monitor social media gossip and eavesdropping on telephone communications of Nigerians.

Adamu has been languishing in detention after security officials comprising the police and men of the Department of State Service, arrested him over a post on Twitter alleging that Aisha was feeding fat on poor people’s money.

HURIWA regretted that the arrest of the student occurred as he was about to sit for his final exams in school when his whereabouts became unknown to his family, an action the Rights group categorised as absolutely unlawful and criminal.

Reacting to this development and the secretive manner of his arrest which, according to it, is not different from the modality of kidnappers, HURIWA condemns the action of the Police for secretly arresting the student without due process of the law being observed as clearly spelt out in the Police Act of 2020.

The Rights group accused the arresting police officers of breaching the extant police Act which also makes it mandatory on the Police to notify the next of kin or relative(s) of the suspect immediately after the arrest of the suspect. See Sec. 35(3).

HURIWA, therefore, asked Buhari to order the Inspector-General of Police to immediately release the student.