By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Former Labour Party, LP, Presidential Candidate, in the 2023 general elections has decried Nigeria’s gradual but steady descent to authoritarianism.
Obi, a prominent figure in the African Democratic Congress, spoke on Tuesday March 24 ,2026 in reaction to the arrest of a Kaduna-based prominent Islamic scholar and Cleric Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Umar shortly after he hosted Obi.
According to the former Anambra State Governor, Sheikh Umar was arrested and whisked away by Security Operatives after playing host to him at his Kaduna residence.
In a statement on his official site, Obi described the development as representing a very dangerous threat to freedom of speech and movement as well as a dent on the Country’s democratic arrangement.
This is as he warned against what he described as the growing level of opposition suppression and intimidation by the All Progressive Congress-led Federal Government of Nigeria.
“I have just been made aware early this morning that revered religious leader, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Umar has been arrested by the authorities shortly after hosting me in Kaduna on Sunday.
“This development underscores the deeply troubling state of our nation and our democracy ,where freedom of speech and movement is increasingly threatened ,and where citizens ,and perceived political opponents face harassment and unnecessary persecutions . This cannot be allowed to continue .
“This country must defend freedom and free speech, which are the hallmarks of every democratic society.
“Suppression and intimidation of dissent can never stand in a democratic society, and this Nigerian Government must understand this fact.
“I respectfully call on those bent on undermining our already fragile democracy to please stop and apply the rule of law and tenets of democracy in dealing with citizens” Obi stated.
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