Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said attacks on media and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under President Bola Tinubu’s administration are worse than what occurred during the military era. He was reacting to Monday’s arrest of Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the invasion of the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Security operatives have intensified attacks on journalists since the turn of the year. The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has also detained several journalists and whistleblowers over alleged petitions filed against them.
Yesterday, Atiku described the attacks on the media as “profoundly disturbing. The level of oppressive control now imposed surpasses even the harshest days of military dictatorship. Just days prior, security forces detained a journalist, only to later claim it was a grievous error. What if the outcome had been fatal?
“Tinubu and his security apparatus must redirect their fervour and intimidation towards the true perpetrators of violence — terrorists and bandits — who are inflicting immeasurable suffering upon the Nigerian people.”
