Women Group Calls For Aisha Buhari’s Probe, Writes AGF Malami

By Akinwale Kasali

A coalition of Women Groups have descended on Nigeria’s  First Lady, Aisha Buhari.

The Group under the aegis of “ Feminist Womanifesto”, that has over 250 Women Organizations in Nigeria have described the arrest, assault and continued detention of the two citizens, said to have criticized the First Lady as “unacceptable in a civilian regime”.

The Convener of the Group, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, expressed these views in a petition to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), dated December 1, 2022 where it demanded the immediate release and investigation of the incident.

Allegedly, on Mrs Buhari’s orders, a 24 year old final year student of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Aminu Mohammed, was arrested by the Police, flown to Abuja, allegedly, tortured, detained and hauled before a Court on Monday, for tweeting, in June, 2022, that the First Lady had become fat feeding on the masses.

Also, a former Aide to the First Lady on Social Media, Zainab Kazeem, was on her alleged orders, beaten for allegedly, leaking secret information.

Mrs Buhari has since come under serious attack by a cross section of Nigerians and organisations, including the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, outraged by what they described as a naked show of lawlessness and power.

NANS has, in a statement,  said it would embark on protests across the country as from next Monday, and keep on it until Mohammed is released.

The petition to Malami by the Women Group titled, “Petition by women groups demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Aminu Muhammed and Zainab Kassim” reads in part:

“We call for their immediate and unconditional release. Various news outlets have suggested that the arrest of Aminu Muhammed and Zainab Kassim was in obedience to orders from Mrs Aisha Buhari and that the student was beaten in her presence.

“We are concerned that despite the call from Nigerians nothing has been said by the office of the First Lady or the government in this regard to counter the narrative. The development is unacceptable in a civilian regime. The rule of law is expected to be prioritized in all arrests. Furthermore, in this period marking 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, no leader, and certainly not a female leader should be associated with such abuses of power. No one should be above the law.

“We believe that the actions constitute a gross violation of the human right to personal liberty, freedom of speech and right to seek legal counsel. These actions also infringe on Section 35, Chapter 4 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which states that an arrested person must be brought before a competent court of law within a reasonable time of 48 hours. It has been over 21 days since their arrest.

“We are worried about the continued detention of these citizens and its implications on the country’s human rights reputation.

“We are compelled to write to your esteemed office to demand an immediate investigation of the arrest, detention and assault of Aminu Muhammed and Zainab Kassim.

“We call your attention to the constitution which states Section 35 (6) states: Any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained shall be entitled to compensation and public apology from the appropriate authority or person; and in this subsection, ‘the appropriate authority or person’ means an authority or person specified by law.

“We also demand the Office of the First Lady of Nigeria to respond to the allegation for the sake of public good and accountability. We hope you will use your good office to cause an investigation in this regard to ensure that the law takes its cause and that both Aminu Muhammed and Zainab Kassim are released or taken before a court of competent jurisdiction. Nigerians are watching! We call on you to do the needful.”