Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has sharply criticized Niger State Governor Umaru Bago over the continued detention of student activist Isah Mokwa, calling for the young advocate’s immediate release and lambasting the administration’s “heavy-handedness” and escalating repression against critics.
The arrest and detention of Mokwa, a postgraduate student at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL), Lapai, has sparked widespread controversy and condemnation. He was apprehended after publicly challenging the state government’s management of flood-relief funds in Mokwa and further questioned billions borrowed by Governor Bago’s administration, arguing the loans had delivered little visible development.
Reports confirm that Mokwa was targeted following social media posts, including one in which he referred to Bago as “Governor Amunike.” The arrest, according to SaharaReporters, occurred at Mokwa’s off-campus residence in Lapai before he was transferred to the Niger State Police Command Headquarters in Minna. Sources indicate that Governor Bago himself ordered the filing of multiple charges against Mokwa, including terrorism, cybercrime, and thuggery, following a direct interrogation in his office.
Mokwa’s lawyer, Ibrahim Usman Wali, has accused the police of employing “administrative delays” to prolong his client’s detention, describing the practice as a familiar tactic used to stifle dissent and circumvent due process. Wali’s legal team maintains that the magistrate court in Minna, which remanded Mokwa in custody until November 17th and then again until November 28th, lacks jurisdiction over the cybercrime charges. “The court’s continued remand is strongly opposed,” stated Wali, who has filed written motions contesting the legality of the proceedings.
The case has drawn international condemnation, including remarks from Amnesty International, which described both the prosecution and continued detention as “politically motivated” and emblematic of a shrinking civic space in Nigeria.Expressing his outrage, Sowore declared, “I condemn Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago for his unrelenting heavy-handedness as the Governor of Niger State. His administration has now gone from clamping down on radio stations to targeting clerics, and today, Comr. Isah Mokwa, a young activist and passionate advocate for good governance, has become his latest victim.”
Sowore further demanded, “Governor Bago must immediately order his despicable Attorney-General to discontinue the politically motivated trial of Isah Mokwa. #FREEISAHMOKWANOW”.
The detention of Mokwa comes amid a broader context of alleged media repression and intolerance for dissent under Bago’s administration. Observers and rights groups have cited this incident as part of a pattern that includes previous clampdowns on radio stations and harassment of journalists, contributing to mounting concern over the state of free speech and civic rights in Nigeria.
