Aminu Adamu, an undergraduate of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State who was detained by security officials over a post on Twitter alleging that the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, “was feeding fat on poor people’s money,” has been remanded at Suleja Prison in Niger State.
While addressing press men, his lawyer, CK Agu said the student was charged to a court in Abuja.
“Even in the court session yesterday, we notified the judge about the efforts made to have him released on bail, but we did not receive any reply from the police. We applied to the court to release the student on bail on health grounds and the fact that he will sit for the exam on 5, December. The court has ordered the police to provide the bail application before it for consideration between Tuesday and Wednesday,” Agu was quoted to have said.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said Aminu’s arrest showed the level of rot in Nigeria’s security system.
He said, “It is a very sad development. Whether it was the DSS or police that arrested the guy, it shows that the government has continued to deploy security assets to chase after gossip. They go to websites and social media in search of those gossiping about the President, his wife and his children, to arrest them.”