A students activist, Isah Mokwa, a postgraduate student of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), is set to be arraigned today (Monday) before Magistrate Court Chief 1 at the State High Court Complex, Oduoye Quarters, Minna, the Niger State capital.
SaharaReporters on Saturday reported that global human rights body, the Amnesty International, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Mokwa, a 29-year-old postgraduate student at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, who was arrested after criticising Governor Bago.
Amnesty International in a statement described the arrest as “an attack on freedom of expression” and a stark example of the increasing authoritarianism in Niger State.
The organisation had called for Mokwa’s immediate and unconditional release, stating that criticising a president or a governor was not a crime.
The human rights body warned that arbitrary arrests like Mokwa’s are part of a growing pattern of backsliding on human rights across Nigeria.
It highlighted that Nigerian youths on peaceful protests are often met with violent reprisals, and now even online critics face suppression through “manipulation of the police and weaponisation of the judiciary.”
Amnesty emphasised, “The governor of Niger must stop such brazen and consistent attacks on freedom and human rights and comply with Nigeria’s constitution and international law that guaranteed the right to freedom of expression.
Criticising a president or a governor – no matter who he is – is not a crime. The arbirtrary arrest of Abubakar Mokwa is the latest symptom of the alarming backsliding on human rights across Nigeria.
“Nigerian politicians are increasingly abusing their power by locking up their critics. When on the streets on peaceful protests, Nigerian youths are always met with violent reprisal from the Nigerian authorities, and now their online voices are being silenced as well, through manipulation of the police and weaponisation of the judiciary.
“Abubakar Mokwa must be released immediately and unconditionally. Governor Umaru Bago should be listening to what his critics are saying instead of using the police to silence them.”
The arrest of Mokwa reflects a broader pattern where political power is being used to silence dissent rather than engage with citizens’ concerns.
Human rights defenders and civil society groups are calling on the Niger State government to release Mokwa immediately and respect fundamental freedoms.
Observers warn that continued suppression of dissent could further erode democratic norms in Niger State and across Nigeria.
The case has drawn national and international attention, reflecting wider concerns about the erosion of civil liberties in the country.