By SCM Reporter, Lagos
AN INTERNATIONAL human rights watchdog, Amnesty International has launched a blistering attack on a Nigerian governor, accusing his administration of a “lawless” and “shocking” abuse of power after a political critic, Jonah Bonet was snatched from his home by armed police.
Jonah Bonet—known online to his followers as ‘Pompo’—has been held in secret detention for 13 days after luxury-loving politicians took offense to a social media post.
Human rights giants Amnesty International say Mr Bonet is being punished purely for daring to criticise Uba Sani, the Governor of Nigeria’s Kaduna State.
The nightmare began at 8:15 p.m. on June 23, when heavily armed operatives from the notorious ‘Operation Fushin Kada’ police unit stormed Mr Bonet’s residence in the capital city of Abuja.
Since the terrifying raid, the critic has vanished into a legal black hole. Distraught family members and lawyers have been completely blocked from seeing him, leaving his loved ones in “trauma and pain.”
Amnesty International has fiercely condemned the arrest, warning that the critic is now at serious risk of ill-treatment while being held indefinitely without charge.
”The mere fact that a social media post is considered unpalatable by a politician or any public figure is not sufficient to justify arbitrary detention by the police,” a spokesperson for Amnesty warned.
”Jonah Bonet did not commit any crime, and his arrest shows clear abuse of power.” The human rights group warned that using the police as a personal hit squad to silence online critics is fast becoming the “hallmark” of the Kaduna State government.
Legal experts say all efforts to protect Mr Bonet’s fundamental human rights have been aggressively blocked by state officials.
Amnesty added: “Detaining Jonah Bonet solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression is unacceptable and shows contempt for the rule of law.”
The Kaduna State government has yet to comment on the growing international outcry.