Tinubu May Soon Jail All Opposing Voices, Atiku Laments

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar expresses concern over President Tinubu’s leadership, warning that dissenting voices may soon face imprisonment.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized what he perceives as the systematic dismantling of opposition by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

In a post on his X handle, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated that the recent arrest and “baseless prosecution” of Omoyele Sowore and Usman Yusuf represents yet another instance of harassment against opposition figures.

When I sounded the alarm that Tinubu and the APC were focusing their efforts on systematically harassing, intimidating, and dismantling the opposition to pave the way for a one-party autocracy, I became subjected to vicious attacks.

The arrest and unfounded prosecution of @YeleSowore mark the latest development in this ongoing campaign. Now, they have chosen to include Professor Usman Yusuf—an outspoken critic of this administration—in their troubling list. At the rate they’re progressing, it appears they’ll soon be faced with imprisoning all of us.

Sowore, the organizer of the #Revolutionnow movement, responded to a police invitation on Monday, January 27, 2025. He was subsequently questioned at the Force Criminal Investigation Department.

He was later granted administrative bail but chose to reject the conditions, opting to remain in custody.

The police subsequently charged him with 16 counts of cybercrime.

On Thursday, the court set Sowore’s bail at ₦10 million, requiring a surety of the same amount.

The guarantor must be a responsible person who owns real estate of equivalent value.

The guarantor is required to submit the original land property documents and a passport-sized photograph to the court registrar.

When deciding on the bail application, Justice Musa Liman, the trial judge, instructed Sowore to submit his international passport to the court registrar.

The judge, however, granted him 24 hours to meet the bail conditions; otherwise, he would be held by the police until they are fulfilled.

Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and prominent critic of the Tinubu administration, Professor Usman Yusuf, was detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday over fraud allegations.

According to a statement by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, his arraignment scheduled for Friday was postponed to Monday to allow for amendments of the charges.

Isah Dokto Haruna, acting on behalf of the lead defense counsel O.I. Habeeb, SAN, requested bail for the defendant; however, the court rejected this application due to the postponement of the arraignment.

Justice Nwecheonwu postponed the proceedings to February 3, 2025, for arraignment and ordered that the defendant remain in the Commission’s custody.