Teenage critic of Sokoto gov, Hamdiyya found in critical condition in Zamfara

Hamdiyya Sidi Shareef, a teenage critic of Sokoto State Governor Ahmad Aliyu, who was earlier declared missing, has been found alive but in critical condition in Zamfara State.

The update was confirmed on Wednesday by her lawyer, Abba Hikima, who shared the news via a post written in Hausa on his official Facebook page.

“We have been informed that Hamdiyya is in the Bakura General Hospital in Zamfara State,” he wrote.

“She is in a critical condition. But there are security personnel with her.”

Hikima also confirmed that Hamdiyya was kidnapped, stating, “It has been confirmed that she was indeed abducted.”

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It was earlier reported on Wednesday that the whereabouts of the teenage activist, Hamdiyya, remained unknown after she mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday morning in Sokoto State amid ongoing legal and political persecution allegedly orchestrated by Governor Ahmad Aliyu.

Hikima raised the alarm in a Facebook post on Wednesday, revealing that the 18-year-old girl left her residence around 10am to buy foodstuffs and had not been seen since.

“She went out to buy foodstuffs in Sokoto and has not been seen since. The Sokoto State Police has already been informed,” Hikima posted.

Hamdiyya rose to prominence in November 2024 after she was arrested, secretly arraigned, and allegedly assaulted by agents of the Sokoto State government for a TikTok video in which she criticised Governor Ahmad Aliyu’s administration.

The charges filed against her include “use of insulting or abusive language” and “inciting disturbance.

The teenage activist was denied access to legal representation and her family during her arraignment, a move rights advocates described as a blatant violation of her constitutional rights.

Since then, she has remained entangled in a legal tug-of-war with the Sokoto State government, while facing threats and cyberbullying allegedly from political loyalists of the governor.

While rumours recently circulated on social media claiming that Hamdiyya had been sentenced to two years in prison, 12 strokes of the cane, or a fine, her lawyer categorically debunked the reports.

(SaharaReporters)