Amnesty International has demanded the immediate release of Aminu Adamu Muhammed, a 23-year-old student arrested by the police for accusing Aisha Buhari, Nigeria’s First Lady of getting fat after eating public funds.
“Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Aminu Adamu Muhammed — a 23–year old student of Federal University Dutse, who was arrested on 8 November 2022 for a tweet alleged to be demeaning to #Nigeria’s first lady #Aisha Buhari,” the rights group said in a statement via its Twitter handle, @AmnestyNigeria, on Sunday.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns the arrest of #Aminu. His family and friends alleged that he was held incommunicado and subjected to severe beating, torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Since his arrest neither his family nor his lawyers have had access to him.
“There are strong suspicions that Aminu is being held in an unknown location in Abuja by Nigerian security operatives.
“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.”
The police had arrested Aminu, a student of Federal University Dutse, over a post on Twitter mocking Mrs. Aisha.
The tweet, which was posted in Hausa in June 2022, reads: “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi.”
The tweet, which was accompanied by a photograph of Aisha Buhari, loosely translates as “Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full”.
Muhammad was initially said to have been arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on November 18, but the university later confirmed that it was the police that effected his arrest.