NANS Apologise to First Lady, Appeals for Release of Student Who Critiqued Her

Cursory: The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), in a lengthy statement, tendered an apology to the First Lady, on behalf of Aminu Mohammed, a 500-level student of Federal University, Dutse Jigawa who took to his Twitter handle some months ago to criticise the First Lady. Jigawa state police command has said it has no hand in the arrest of a 500-level student of the Federal University, Dutse.

Following the detention of Aminu Mohammed, a 500-level student of Federal University, Dutse Jigawa, who critiqued the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has apologised on his behalf.

As reported by The Nation, the student association, in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 29, by its president, Usman Barambu, appealed for the release of Muhammad from police custody.

In its statement, NANS described Muhammad’s arrest as an unlawful arrest stating that his whereabouts were unknown until it was discovered that he was arrested and moved to the police station in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja.

The union said Muhammad’s action was “just like normal way angry citizens have different ways of expression on social media.”

As contained in the statement, the NANS president alleged that Muhammad was also taken to the state house in Abuja, where the Nigerian police brutalised him. He said: “on the orders of Aisha Buhari, he was unlawfully detained at a police facility at Wuse Zone II till date.

“I, alongside our team of lawyers, met with Mohammed at the police facility where he confirmed the incident to me. Until now, Mohammed has not been arraigned by any competent court of law or granted bail by the police.”

However, the leadership of NANS apologised on behalf of Muhammad, stating that leaders and public officers should be able to overlook criticism, Punch reported.

The Leadership of NANS also urged the Nigerian Police to give an explanation for kidnapping Muhammad instead of following the statutory procedure of arresting him.

While explaining that Muhammad has suffered various degrees of injuries, the NANS president said:

“We call on the police as a matter of national interest and urgency to release Mohammed unconditionally or be prepared to face the Nigerian students.”

Meanwhile,the Jigawa state police command has said it has no hand in the arrest of a 500-level student of the Federal University, Dutse.

The student, identified as Aminu Azare, was reportedly arrested for posting a tweet accusing the First Lady of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, of “eating poor people’s money”.

The tweet, which was written in Hausa and accompanied by a photo of the first lady, read in English:

“Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full.”

The student was reported to have been arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), a development that led to a backlash from Nigerians on social media. While DSS has not reacted, other media reports also claimed the police arrested Azare.

The Punch reported that the Jigawa police spokesman, DSP Lawan Shiisu, said he was not aware of the arrest.

See reactions:

Agness Musa Jacob said: “Such things are normal with politics…God bless Patience Jonathan for her level of tolerance.”

Felix Kalu said: “Patience Jonathan is still the best 1st lady ever in the history of Nigeria.”

Adam Ahmad Mohammad said: “God bless Mama patience and her humble husband Good luck Jonathan. We missed them.”

Read Also: “He’s One of Our Best Students,” Classmates of Young Man Arrested for Allegedly Criticising Aisha Buhari

ALLSCHOOL TEAM