Nigeria’s first lady, Aisha Buhari, has withdrawn the case she ordered the police to Institute against 23-year-old Aminu Adamu Muhammed, a student of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, arrested over a tweet.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Muhammed, a final-year student in the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, in June 2022 posted on Twitter that Mrs Buhari had suddenly added weight after taking part in plundering the nation’s meagre resources as the masses endured hardship under her husband’s regime.
The tweet, which was posted in Hausa reads: “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi.”
The tweet, which was accompanied by a photograph of Mrs Buhari, loosely translates as “Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full”.
According to his friends, he made the post because he was frustrated about the prolonged strike by universities across the country.
The strike started in February 2022 and ended in October after eight months.
However, on November 8, the 23-year-old student was picked up by security operatives on campus and was reportedly beaten up following his arrest around noon.
Muhammed was secretly arraigned by the police in court on Tuesday.
The arrest and subsequent arraignment have sparked outrage on social media as many people have heavily criticised the First Lady, describing her action as an abuse of power.
Announcing the withdrawal of the case against Muhammed on Friday, prosecution counsel, Fidelis Ogbobe said Mrs Buhari took the action following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians.
Ogbobe relied on Section 108 subsection 2(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act to move the application for the withdrawal of the case.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court commended Mrs Buhari for forgiving the student.
More details later.
