Operatives of Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Salihu Tanko-Yakasai, a media aide of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State for criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari.
Salihu was arrested on Saturday after he made a post demanding Buhari’s resignation over the failure of his government to fulfil the number one obligation of securing Nigerians against widespread attacks from bandits and terrorists.
When news broke that 317 schoolgirls of Government Girls School were abducted on Friday morning, Salihu took to Twitter to say:
“Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number one duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives and properties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign.”
Hours after that comment, one of Salihu’s friends blew the whistle that Salihu was missing.
Tweeting via @aburaees66, read: “Family, friends and colleagues have been unable to locate @dawisu for at least 14 hours now, both lines of his have been unavailable since he left his home at about 4pm yesterday. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts please let us know! This is URGENT! Thank you”
Salihu’s father, the famous politician, Tanko Yakasai later confirmed his son’s arrest to the Daily Trust. He said Salihu is being detained by security operatives.
Tanko Yakasai said he is not sure of the location where his son is being held but he is certain that security operatives are the ones holding him.
Security agencies are yet to react to the reports on the detention of Salihu.
Meanwhile, this is not the first Salihu has criticized Buhari and gotten into trouble for doing it. In October 2020, Ganduje suspended him for criticizing Buhari over his failure to address the EndSARS protesters during the heat of calls to end SARS.
Back then, Salihu had said: “I’ve never seen a government with zero emphaty like that of president Buhari. So many times when his people are going through difficult time and expect some sort of tab on shoulder to reassure them that he is in charge, but he failed to do so. The I don’t care attitude is on another level.”
Below are some of the reactions from Nigerians following his recent arrest.
