A student Aminu Azare has been clamped in detention without trial after his social media post about Aisha Buhari the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari went viral.
The post made in June 2022 accused the first lady of feeding fat at the expense of poor people.
Azare, a final year student of environmental management and toxicology at the Federal University Dutse in Jigawa State was whisked from school November 17 2022 by security agents and tortured allegedly in the presence of the first lady.
According to Shehu Baba-Azare, an uncle to the detained student who spoke to BBC Hausa on Monday, the family only got to know of his arrest five days after when they were informed by another student.
“The father did not know of the arrest… The following morning on Monday, Aminu (Mr Azare) called his father through a security agent’s phone and informed him that he was being held in Abuja by security agents. He said he was taken to the State House, reprimanded and beaten in the presence of the wife of the president, before he was taken to an unknown location and locked.
“The father later informed me that the university management (Federal University Dutse) called to inform him that they were not aware of the arrest.
“Of course, we are disturbed. There are instances of such arrests that are still unresolved. We’re pleading with her to forgive our son because she is a mother too. Let her forgive and forget. We’re pleading with her,” said Baba – Azare.
Amnesty International a human rights organisation, in a statement on the incident, said the student must be released unconditionally.
“Amnesty International calls on the authorities to release him from unlawful detention and ensure that all those suspected of torture and other violations against him are brought to justice.”
