Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned the arrest and prosecution of activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore was arraigned by the police on Wednesday on a 16-count charge, including allegations of cybercrime. Among the charges was the claim that he referred to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as an “illegal IG.”
Atiku said Sowore’s prosecution, as well as the arrest and detention of Prof Usman Yusuf, a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), is “systematic harassment and intimidation.”
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) arrested Yusuf on Wednesday, January 28, 2025, over alleged N4 billion fraud, amongst other allegations.
Reacting via his official X handle, Atiku described Sowore’s prosecution as baseless, adding that Tinubu’s government may soon imprison everyone who criticises his administration.
The former Vice President wrote: “When I made the clarion call that Tinubu and the APC were devoting their energies to the systematic harassment, intimidation, and dismantling of the opposition, all in service of their grand design for a one-party autocracy, I became the target of vicious attacks.
“The arrest and baseless prosecution of @YeleSowore is the latest chapter in this unrelenting campaign. Now, they have seen fit to add Professor Usman Yusuf— an outspoken critic of this administration — into their grim roster. At the pace they are going, it seems they may soon find themselves contending with the incarceration of every one of us.” he added.
