In the past few weeks, repression against me has intensified, marked by torture, unlawful arrests, and criminal charges engineered to silence my voice.
In January, I was dragged to court by the Chief of Nigeria’s Police, Kayode Egbetokun, after he orchestrated my arrest. Under that pretext, my international passport was confiscated based on a bogus “cybercrime” charge. Despite all efforts, including proceedings before Justice M. S. Liman of the Federal High Court, my passport has not been returned.
While this battle raged, I took part in the historic #POLICEPROTEST in July, advocating for better conditions of service for serving and retired police officers. The success of this protest infuriated Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In retaliation, I was arrested again, accused of forging a police wireless message and inciting mutiny, all because I dared to fight for the welfare of policemen and women.
During this unlawful detention, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Akin Fakorede, sent eight officers into my cell at 6 a.m. They roughed me up, injured my hand, and dragged me before a vacation judge at the Federal High Court. The arraignment stalled only because the police, in their desperation, joined SaharaReporters, the media platform I founded as a co-accused, making service impossible.
As this repression unfolded, the Secret Service (SSS) entered the fray. They began threatening social media companies, Facebook and Twitter, ordering them to delete posts they claimed were “offensive” to Tinubu. They even wrote letters to my attorneys demanding I retract my words, or face consequences. Shortly after, they filed a five-count charge against me at the Federal High Court, alleging I “cyberbullied” Tinubu.
I refused to bow. I sued them in return to assert my fundamental right to free expression.
Yesterday, however, the stakes escalated further. The FCT’s drunkard–murderer Minister, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, notorious for once being caught on tape threatening to kill INEC officials he bribed to rig a by-election in 2016, has now been enlisted. Wike openly threatened me with assassination on behalf of Tinubu, saying that Tinubu could have done something different if not for his supposed belief in the “rule of law.” Besides these acts, they sponsored several phony protests against me in the Abuja metropolis, and several individuals have made open threats to my life.
Wike is no stranger to murderous conduct. He has killed many, stolen so much, and evaded accountability for too many crimes. His threats do not come as a surprise. But what is is clear now is that the Tinubu regime has now activated its assassination plot.