SaharaReporters learnt that the activists were arrested and detained after honouring an invitation by the state police commissioner, CP Salman Dogo Garba, for a meeting at 2 pm on Monday.
Five members of the Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement (NPFM) including its National Chairman, Comrade Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu, have been arrested by the police in Kano State.
SaharaReporters learnt that the activists were arrested and detained after honouring an invitation by the state police commissioner, CP Salman Dogo Garba, for a meeting at 2 pm on Monday.
SaharaReporters learnt that following their arrest, the activists were taken from Kano Police Headquarters to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in Abuja. Their transfer to Abuja reportedly followed a directive from the Office of the NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Apart from Comrade Abdulmajid, others suspected to have been arrested are Barrister Yusha'u Sani Yankuzo, Barrister Amina Bello, Comrade Sani NaRogo, Comrade Anas, and Comrade Abdullahi.
Sources told SaharaReporters that the security personnel have seized the mobile phones of the activists.
"They were just taken from Kano police headquarters to Abuja NSA's office. All their phones were seized by the police," a source said.
The circumstances of their detention and the nature of the meeting remain unclear, prompting concerns about the rights of political activists in Nigeria and the implications of such police actions.
Efforts by the SaharaReporters to get the Force spokesperson, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, for comments were unsuccessful as he did not answer his phone calls. He also did not reply to a text message sent to his mobile phone.
Similarly, the state command police public relations officer, Abdullahi Haruna, did not answer his calls or reply to a text message sent to him.
Confirming the situation, NPFM Secretariat in a statement signed by Comrade Al Amin on Monday titled, ‘Where Is Comrade Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu, National Chairman, NPFM?’, said Abdulmajid along with four others went to the Kano police commissioner’s office earlier in the day and did not return.
Narrating the incident, the statement said, “Comrade Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu left his office this afternoon at around 2:30 pm to attend a meeting with the Kano state Commissioner of Police at the Bompai Headquarters of the force.
“Comrade Abdulmajid was with four other members of the NPFM when he left his office for the meeting with the commissioner.
“As at 7: 42 pm comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues have not returned. Their whereabouts are unknown. All efforts to reach them have proved abortive.”
The NPFM Secretariat recalled that on Sunday, September 29, 2024, Comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues addressed a press conference in Kano, declaring the commencement of a nationwide National Survival Day protest on October 1, 2024. It said, “The central concerns regarding the protest are the cost of living crisis and the endemic bad governance in the country.
“Among the demands raised by Comrade Abdulmajid are: fuel pump price overpricing; food inflation; high cost of governance at the top; grand corruption; persistent insecurity; Re-nationalisation of the NNPC(L) and electricity distribution services (DISCOs), among others.
“We urge comrades across the country to help us raise the alarm until comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues safely return home.
“No one in his right mind can take any unduly long disappearance of a comrade such as Abdulmajid and his NPFM colleagues lightly. The growing state of political repression in the country makes this call for the Kano state commissioner of police to produce comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues more urgent.”
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters had reported that how the Nigerian government filed charges against some #EndBadGovernance protesters who were arrested during the recent 10-day demonstrations that swept across the country.
The charges, filed at a Federal High Court in the Abuja Division, include felony and treason, and are said to be offences contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code.
The #EndBadGovernance protests, which drew thousands of demonstrators across various cities in the country, were fuelled by widespread dissatisfaction with government policies, fuel subsidy, allegations of corruption, and growing economic hardship.
Protesters, mostly young Nigerians, took to the streets to demand better governance, accountability, and an end to systemic issues that have plagued the nation for decades.