Group raises alarm over alleged plot to detain Atiku, Amaechi, Aregbesola, others

A civil society organisation has sounded the alarm over what it claims is an unfolding plan to arrest and detain prominent opposition politicians, warning that such actions could undermine plural politics and pave the way for a de facto one-party system in Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, the group, through its coordinator, Adekunle O. Adebayo, alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi and Nasir el-Rufai have been singled out for arrest.

Operating on the pro-Yoruba platform of “Bí a bá pa ìtàn mọ́, ìtàn á pa wa.” (When truth is suppressed, it eventually destroys those who suppress it), the group further claimed that Isa Ali Pantami, Rauf Aregbesola, Kashim Ibrahim Imam and other notable political figures are also targets, coming on the heels of the earlier arrests and detentions of Aminu Tambuwal, Abubakar Malami and Chris Ngige.

The statement alleged that the planned arrests are connected to a covert, multi-agency security directive reportedly coordinated from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and implemented through a task force drawing personnel from anti-corruption, intelligence and financial-crime agencies.

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According to the group, the operation represents “a political project aimed not at law enforcement, but at neutralising opposition forces, particularly within emerging coalition platforms.”

It further alleged that the strategy involves selective arrests, prolonged detention without formal charges, pressure on politically exposed persons to defect to the ruling party, disruption of legitimate opposition gatherings, deliberate factionalisation of opposition parties, and the use of extended litigation to deplete opposition resources.

The group described the reported plan to arrest Nasir el-Rufai as particularly instructive, noting that his administration has already been under sustained investigation for more than two years without any established evidence of personal wrongdoing.

Warning of constitutional implications, the group said that “these actions, if carried out, would constitute grave violations of the 1999 Constitution (as amende), including breaches of the rights to personal liberty, freedom of association and expression, equality before the law, and judicial independence.”

It emphasised that the selective enforcement of laws based on political affiliation runs contrary to the principles of constitutional democracy.

The group urged Nigerians, civil society organisations and the international community to closely observe unfolding events, cautioning that the country risks drifting into a system where democratic institutions remain in place only superficially, while political authority is maintained through coercion and selective justice.