The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has apologized
to the first lady and wife of President Buhari, Aisha Buhari, for
the comment made by one Aminu Mohammed, a student of the Federal
University, Dutse Jigawa, that allegedly forced her to order his arrest.
Mrs Buhari allegedly ordered his arrest
over a Twitter post where he claimed that the First Lady was feeding
fat on poor people’s money, opened up on his alleged travail.
A screenshot of the tweet purportedly posted by Aminu above
The Nation reports that in a statement released by its President,
Usman Barambu, NANS apologized on behalf of the Nigerian students to the
First Lady, while also calling for Mohammed’s release.
“The leadership of NANS received with concern the news of the
unlawful arrest of Mohammed by the Nigeria Police on the instruction of
Aisha Buhari. Upon receiving the news, I, Mohammed’s family and friends
swung into action to trace the whereabouts of Mohammed. After some days
of searching, we got the information that he was at the police unit in
Wuse Zone 2. I met with Mohammed at the police custody.
It was alleged that Mohammed some weeks back posted Aisha Buhari’s
picture on Twitter with the caption “Su mama anchi kudin talakawa an
koshi” (translated from Hausa to ‘the mother has gotten fatter by eating
masses’ money’).
Just like the normal way angry citizens have different ways of
expression on the social media. On November 18, 2022, the police from
Abuja tracked Mohammed to the Federal University Dutse and picked him
without any written/verbal invitation or informing the school management
or his family,” Barambu narrated.
The Nation added that the NANS President said Mohammed was taken
straight to the Presidential Villa where he was allegedly brutalized,
beaten, maltreated, and humiliated by the police “on the orders of Aisha
Buhari, after which he was unlawfully detained at a police facility at
Wuse Zone II till date.
I, alongside our team of lawyers, met with Mohammed at the police
facility where he confirmed the incident to me. Until now, Mohammed has
not been arraigned by any competent court of law or granted bail by the
police.”
“We want to, on behalf of all the Nigerian students, tender our
unreserved apology to the First Lady Aisha Buhari, for the action of
Mohammed which might have caused her and her family pains. However, as
leaders and public office holders, we must overlook some criticisms if
we want to really forge ahead and do the right thing.
We demand a detailed explanation by the Nigeria Police on why they
will go to the school premises and ‘kidnap’ a student without due
process and took him straight to the Presidential Villa where he was
brutalised which violates his fundamental human rights,” the statement
said.
NANS said Mohammed had sustained various injuries and had not accessed any proper medical attention.
“We call on the police as a matter of national interest and urgency
to release Mohammed unconditionally or be prepared to face the Nigerian
students.
“However, we are calling on our teeming students to be careful and
apply decorum in dealing with people especially our leaders. They should
be mindful of what they post on social media. We want to inform the
general public to be patient as we await response and actions from the
Inspector General of Police on a letter earlier sent to his office,” the
NANS President added
