Tinubu administration may soon put all government critics in jail, says Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of suppressing dissent.

In a post on X on Thursday, Abubakar claimed the arrests of Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2023; and Usman Yusuf, a former executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); are attempts to silence the opposition.

“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,” he wrote.

“The arrest and baseless prosecution of Omoyele Sowore 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.”

In recent weeks, Abubakar has decried attacks on opposition, media and civil society organisations (CSOs), saying the incidents are worse than what transpired during the military era.

On Monday, while speaking at the national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, Abubakar said there is a need for judicial reform to “curb judicial recklessness”.

“In a period of less than 20 years the Nigerian judiciary has moved from being the beacon of democratic sustenance to becoming, arguably, the biggest threat to Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.