The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has condemned the ongoing harassment and attempts to arrest the Director-General of Media and Publicity for the Kano State Government, Mallam Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Kano, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, said that police authorities, apparently acting on directives from Abuja, are persistently making efforts to arrest Dawakin-Tofa despite a court injunction restraining the Nigeria Police from such action.
Johnson clarified that the repeated attempts to arrest Dawakin-Tofa—along with the potential harassment of his family members—stem from a petition allegedly written against him by former Kano State Governor and National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, or individuals acting on his behalf.
The NNPP spokesman decried the police’s actions, describing them as an affront to the rule of law and a blatant abuse of power. He revealed that Dawakin-Tofa had been forced into hiding as a precautionary measure against what he termed an unlawful arrest.
According to him: “As the general public can see, the situation in Kano is now degenerating into chaos with such abuse of power, intimidation, and harassment of state government officials. The situation is deeply troubling and unfortunate. And this, I dare say, comes from a party peddling the illusion that it can attract foreign investors to the country. Pray tell, how many investors would choose to operate in a society where the rule of law is flagrantly abused by institutions meant to uphold it?
“Since there is a court injunction restraining the Police, further attempts to arrest Sanusi cast a terrible slur on the image of the Nigeria Police. It is a sad reminder of similar actions and posturing during the regrettable power struggle in Kano over the Emirate saga. Perhaps, at some point, the ruling party will recognise the extent to which their leadership may have tarnished their brand, particularly in Northern Nigeria.”
NNPP called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to ensure that the Police, as an institution, resist the dangerous descent into partisan politics. The party also urged him to restrain his officers from further harassment and intimidation of Dawakin-Tofa, whose fundamental human rights, it emphasised, are protected under the law and must be respected.