State Govts’ Growing Intolerance to Criticisms

Amid the economic hardship in the country, state governments have continued their intolerance to dissent voices.

This was what happened in Borno State where the police arrested and detained one Sultan Usman for five days for criticising the Executive Secretary of the Borno State Geographical Information Service, Adam Bababe, over flood prevention measures in the state.

Usman, a popular social media activist in Borno, was taken into police custody last Monday. His lawyer described his arrest and detention as unlawful.

After a flood disaster devastated homes and businesses in Maiduguri, the state capital, in September 2024, flood prevention became a topical issue in the state.

 Shortly after, Bababe, whose agency is responsible for land administration, in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, blamed communities that resisted his agency’s steps to implement flood prevention measures for the disaster.

But Usman replied to him, saying  the tweet was like an open admission that the government had failed in its responsibility.

Although Bababe acknowledged that the post was deleted immediately, he reported Usman to the police, leading to his prompt arrest and detention.

It is a common knowledge these days that many Nigerians have been persecuted by the security agencies at the instance of governors and aides who are intolerant to criticisms.

This has been a pattern each time officials state governments are criticised. 

In Sokoto State, 18-year-old Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff is currently standing trial for criticising Governor Ahmad Aliyu.

Shariff was arrested and put in prison for allegedly lamenting the rising killings and general insecurity in the state on social media. 

In a viral video, she revealed how bandits pillaged their villages without any restraints, and how displaced women seeking refuge in the state capital are now being sexually exploited due to abject poverty and squalor.

Recently, on the orders of Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, the police abducted his former commissioner, Fabian Ihekweme, in Abuja to Owerri for criticising the governor. He was detained for more than a month.

His arrest was said to be connected to his frequent criticism of Uzodimma’s style of administration.

These arrests and detention constitute a serious assault on free speech and democracy, and are therefore unacceptable.

No one should be punished solely for expressing an opinion that is contrary to that of the government. It is simply anathema to democracy.