ATIKU EXPRESSES CONCERN THAT TINUBU MAY SOON INCARCERATE ALL DISSENTING VOICES.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned what he describes as the systematic dismantling of the opposition by President Bola Tinubu's administration. In a post on his X handle, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate stated that the recent arrest and "baseless prosecution" of Omoyele Sowore and Usman Yusuf is the latest instance of harassment against opposition figures.

"When I made the clarion call that Tinubu and the APC were devoting their energies to the systematic harassment, intimidation, and dismantling of the opposition, all in service of their grand design for a one-party autocracy, I became the target of vicious attacks.

"The arrest and baseless prosecution of @YeleSowore is the latest chapter in this unrelenting campaign. Now, they have seen fit to add Professor Usman Yusuf—an outspoken critic of this administration—into their grim roster. At the pace they are going, it seems they may soon find themselves contending with the incarceration of every one of us."

Sowore, the convener of the #Revolutionnow movement, honored a police invitation on Monday, January 27, 2025, when he was questioned at the Force Criminal Investigation Department. He was subsequently granted administrative bail but rejected the conditions and remained in custody. The police later filed a 16-count charge of cybercrime against him.

On Thursday, the court granted Sowore bail set at ₦10 million with one surety of equal value. The surety must be a responsible individual with landed property of equivalent value and is required to deposit the original documents and a passport photograph with the court registrar. Justice Musa Liman, the trial judge, ordered Sowore to deposit his international passport with the registrar and gave him 24 hours to meet the bail conditions or be remanded by the police until the conditions are met.

Another critic of the Tinubu administration, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Professor Usman Yusuf, was arrested on Wednesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on fraud allegations. His arraignment, initially scheduled for Friday, was moved to Monday to allow for amendment of the charges, according to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale.

Though defense counsel Isah Dokto Haruna, representing lead defense counsel O.I. Habeeb, SAN, applied for bail, the court denied the request due to the defendant's deferred arraignment. Justice Nwecheonwu adjourned the matter until February 3, 2025, for arraignment and ruled that the defendant be remanded in the Commission's custody.