Alarm as Analyst Alleges Plot to Arrest Atiku, Amaechi, el-Rufai in Crackdown on Opposition
A public affairs analyst and civic activist, Adekunle Adebayo, has sounded a strong warning over what he described as an emerging plan to arrest and intimidate leading opposition figures in Nigeria, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
Adebayo, in a statement obtained by PulseNets on Tuesday, cautioned that the alleged scheme is part of a broader political strategy aimed at weakening opposition voices and gradually entrenching a de facto one-party system in the country.
He alleged that Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, have already been pencilled down for arrest.
PulseNets learnt that Adebayo also listed other high-profile political actors as potential targets, including Isa Ali Pantami, Rauf Aregbesola, Kashim Ibrahim Imam, among others.
According to him, the alleged plan is consistent with what he described as a pattern of recent arrests and detentions involving former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; former Anambra State Governor, Chris Ngige; and former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Speaking to PulseNets, Adebayo warned that the execution of such arrests would amount to grave violations of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), particularly provisions guaranteeing personal liberty, freedom of association and expression, equality before the law, and judicial independence.
“The selective deployment of law enforcement agencies based on political alignment is fundamentally incompatible with the principles of constitutional democracy,” he said.
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He further urged Nigerians, civil society groups, and the international community to remain vigilant and closely observe unfolding political developments, warning that the country risks drifting into a system where democratic institutions merely exist in form, while political power is consolidated through coercion, intimidation, and selective justice.
