Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has expressed concern over the arrest of religious leader Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Umar.
According to Obi, Umar was detained shortly after hosting him in Kaduna State on Sunday.
Taking to his 𝕏 account on Tuesday, the former governor described the arrest as a “threat to freedom of speech and movement.”
He stressed that troubling developments in Nigeria’s political landscape “must be nipped in the bud” and urged that suppression and intimidation of opposition voices by the government must stop.
Obi added that the rule of law should always prevail in such circumstances.
“I have just been made aware early this morning that Revered religious leader, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Umar has been arrested by authorities shortly after hosting me in Kaduna on Sunday.
“This development underscores the deeply troubling state of our nation and our democracy, where freedom of speech and movement is increasingly threatened, and where citizens and perceived political opponents face harassment and unnecessary persecution. This cannot be allowed to continue.
“This country must defend freedom and free speech, which are the hallmarks of every democratic society. Suppression and intimidation of dissent can never stand in a democratic society, and this Nigerian government must understand this fact.
“I respectfully call on all those bent on undermining our already fragile democracy to please stop and apply the rule of law and tenets of democracy in dealing with citizens,” he wrote.
