Amnesty International strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest of Abubakar Salim Musa by the police in Abuja.
Last week, it emerged that Salim was being tracked and monitored by officers attached to the Gusau Central Police Command. This is connected to his legitimate exercise of freedom of expression on social media.
No formal invitation, complaint, or allegation was communicated to him.
His lawyers made further effort of seeking clarification from the police given the intense tracking of his movement by security agents. While he was in Abuja, a contingent of heavily armed security personnel tracked him to Sounders Suites, located in Apo Legislative Quarters, Zone E and abducted him. He was detained at abbatoir — a notorious police detention centre where past detainees were tortured. When his family and lawyers approached the detention centre to find out exactly why he was detained, the police brazenly denied having him in their custody.
The Nigerian authorities must release Abubakar Salim immediately and unconditionally. No one should be punished for criticizing a government official. Abubakar Salim did not commit any crime and his arrest shows clear abuse of power. It is perfectly within his right to criticize any government official — no matter his position or status.
Detaining Abubakar Salim solely for exercising the right to freedom of expression is unacceptable and shows contempt for the rule of law. Under international human rights law, the mere fact that a social media post is considered unpalatable by any government official or any public figure is not sufficient to justify arbitrary detention by the police.
The right of young people to freedom of expression in Nigeria is increasingly threatened. A lot of young Nigerians have come attacks, ranging from threats, to arrests, illegal detention, and harassment, all for simply expressing their opinions online.
This is unlawful and unacceptable.
