Amnesty condemns arrest of Abubakar Salim by Nigeria police, demands immediate release

Amnesty International has condemned the arrest of Abubakar Salim Musa by the police in Abuja.

The group warned against what it described as a growing attempt to silence young Nigerians for expressing their opinions online.
The rights group made this known in a statement shared on X on Wednesday.

They described Salim’s arrest as arbitrary and unlawful.

Amnesty said the arrest was linked to Salim’s use of social media to criticise government officials, an action it said falls within his fundamental right to freedom of expression.

“Salim had been tracked and monitored by police officers attached to the Gusau Central Police Command before his arrest. No formal invitation, complaint, or allegation was ever communicated to him,” the group said.

Amnesty stated that despite efforts by Salim’s lawyers to seek clarification from the police, he was later tracked to a hotel in the Apo Legislative Quarters area of Abuja, where he was arrested by heavily armed security personnel.

“He was detained at Abbatoir, a notorious police detention centre,” Amnesty said.

They added that when his family and lawyers went there to ask about his arrest, the police denied that he was in custody.

The human rights organisation said Salim committed no crime and should not be punished for criticising public officials.

“No one should be punished for criticising a government official. It is perfectly within his right to criticise any public office holder, no matter their position or status.”

Amnesty described Salim’s detention as a clear abuse of power and a violation of the rule of law.

He stressed that under international human rights law, criticism on social media cannot justify arrest or detention.

Amnesty called on Nigerian authorities to release Abubakar Salim immediately and unconditionally.

The organisation also raised concern about what it called increasing threats to young people’s freedom of expression in Nigeria.