Our Reporter, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the arrest and continued detention of Abubakar Isah Mokwa, a postgraduate student of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), describing it as an assault on democracy and free speech.
In a post on his official X handle on Saturday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections said Mokwa’s arrest for allegedly criticising Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, was “outrageous and unacceptable.”
Atiku accused the authorities of weaponising the Cybercrimes Act to silence dissenting voices, warning that such intolerance represented a “dangerous sign” of Nigeria’s descent into repression.
“This development is both outrageous and unacceptable. 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,” he wrote.
He maintained that defamation was a civil matter, not a criminal offence, and criticised the ruling party for allegedly using state power to intimidate citizens, journalists, and opposition voices.
“The continued incarceration of Abubakar Mokwa and others persecuted under this unjust law stands condemned. This tyranny in disguise has no place in a free society,” Atiku said, demanding the student’s “immediate and unconditional release.”
He further urged Nigerians to “rise in defence of free speech and civil liberty,” adding that cyberstalking and cyberbullying provisions should not be used to muzzle critics or suppress the truth.
Atiku also called for a repeal or comprehensive amendment of the Cybercrimes Act, which he said had become “a convenient tool for gagging citizens and waging war against democracy, freedom, and dissent.”
“History will not be kind to those who criminalise truth,” the former vice president concluded.
