By News Editor I SCM I Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026
KADUNA — Human rights watchdog Amnesty International Nigeria has strongly condemned the management of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, over the abrupt cancellation of a planned public presentation of a book critically assessing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The book, titled “Tinubu: From Renewed Hope to Despair: A Critical Examination of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Government,” was scheduled for public launch on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at Arewa House, Kaduna.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, October 11, 2026, Amnesty International accused ABU authorities of succumbing to political pressure, describing the decision as a fresh evidence of escalating political repression and intolerance for dissenting views across the country.
According to the rights group, efforts by the event’s organizers—the Centre for Democratic Development Research and Training (CEDDERT), Zaria—to secure an alternative venue in Kaduna failed after several hotels and event centres declined the booking, allegedly citing warnings against accommodating the event.
Reacting to the development, Amnesty International noted that the book is an intellectual work that poses no threat to public peace.
”The Nigerian authorities must end these undemocratic patterns of attack on freedom of expression. The book, which interrogates government policies and assesses their implications for people, is a legitimate means of peaceful intellectual engagement. It poses no threat to peace,” the statement read.
The organisation warned that the pattern of denying venues and suppressing peaceful debate is instilling a climate of fear across Nigeria, rendering the expression of alternative political opinions increasingly difficult.
Calling for an immediate reversal, Amnesty International urged ABU management to uphold academic freedom and reauthorize the use of Arewa House for the presentation.
Arewa House (the Centre for Documentation and Research under Ahmadu Bello University) located in Kaduna, has historically served as a premier center for intellectual discourse, public lectures, and political research in Northern Nigeria.
This latest development comes amid growing public scrutiny of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic and political policies since taking office in May 2023. Interventions such as the removal of fuel subsidies, currency floating, and rising inflation have sparked widespread public debate regarding the administration’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.
Rights organizations have repeatedly called on Nigerian federal authorities and public institutions to protect freedom of speech and association as guaranteed by Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a signatory.