By Peace O. Aboje
THE Revolutionary Socialist Movement RSM has demanded for the immediate and unconditional release of a 23-year-old Aminu Mohammed for a tweet alleged to be a caricature of the first lady of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari.
In a press statement dated Monday, November 2022, and signed by Salako Kayode, RSM condemned the arrest and detention of Mohammed, a final year student of Environmental Management and Toxicology, Federal University of Dutse, Jigawa State.
RSM called on Nigerians to join it the demand for Mohammed’s release.
The student was said to have tweeted upon seeing the pictures of Aisha Buhari, one an old picture and another a recent picture. The tweet which was in Hausa reads: “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankochin,” which could be translated as: “The mother has gotten fatter from eating the masses money.”
The tweet was posted on the 8th June, 2022 after the first lady posted a picture of herself and having added some weight.
RSM said the tweet is not far from the truth as a large percentage of the masses are living in poverty and dying of hunger while the elites are living extravagantly provocative lifestyle. It also noted that Mohammed’s tweet should be seen as a sign of frustration of staying at home during the period in which ASUU was on strike which lasted from February till October 2022.
The student was reportedly arrested at the campus of the Federal University of Dutse on November 8th, 2022. He was alleged to have severely beaten and tortured by officers.
“This is another example of the state using its apparatus to turn against ordinary citizens, but seems powerless when it’s time to fight against insecurities and everyday terror that the masses face,” the statement reads.
RSM further noted: “The Secret police in Nigeria (SSS) are prominent in their role, repressing and attacking ordinary people, unlawful behavior and notorious treatment of those who get in its way.”
The group also highlighted other cases of unjust arrest and maltreatment of people by the DSS.
“There have been several reports in the past that the secret police detained people and made them incommunicable. Operatives of Nigeria’s Department of State Services arrested and detained Mr Anthony Okolie for purchasing a sim card that was previously used by Hannan, a daughter of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari. Okolie bought the MTN mobile phone sim card in 2018, two years before his arrest.
“He was arrested on Monday, July 22, at Nnedisi Road, Asaba, Delta State. Okolie was taken to Abuja by the DSS operatives and was kept in custody until his release in December 2019. There are many cases like this one.
“Nigerians will also not forget that on June 4 last year, the Buhari regime “indefinitely suspended” Twitter, despite mass protests. The regime refused to unban it until January 13, 2022, seven months after clamping down on the social networking site. Nigeria’s government suspended Twitter after the company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari about punishing regional secessionists.
“In other related cases, Solomon Akuma was also detained for a tweet. He was later discharged by the Federal High Court in Abuja. Akuma’s tweet [was] in response to a Twitter post asking respondents what their next move would be if they got $1 million. Akuma wrote he would “pay a Russian sniper to eliminate (President Muhammadu) Buhari and (Abba) Kyari (Buhari’s former Chief of Staff)”, obviously not being serious. Akuma was abducted and had been detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, for over 11 months before taken to Kuje prison where he is still kept.
“We in the RSM call on the general public to condemn the act of detaining Aminu and join forces with us to seek the immediate and unconditional release of this innocent student whose future is at stake.
“We call on the trade union centres to condemn this neo colonial attitudes of the State Security Services and demand immediate release of Mr Aminu.”
