BREAKING: Kwara Police Detain Journalist, Activists For Condemning Govt-Backed Attack On Protesters, Obtain Dubious Remand Without Court Sitting

Authorities in Kwara State have intensified their clampdown on dissenting voices as the state police command has arrested and detained an investigative journalist and two civic activists for condemning a violent attack on peaceful protesters in Ilorin.

SaharaReporters gathered that journalist Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed, along with two activists, including Musa Saidu Tsaragi, are currently being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Kwara State Police Command Headquarters in Ilorin.

SaharaReporters gathered that the trio was detained after honouring a police invitation on Tuesday.

Sources privy to the situation told SaharaReporters that the journalist and the activists were detained after the Special Adviser to Kwara State Governor on Social Investment, Sadiq Buhari, filed charges against them for alleged defamation and cybercrime.

This move is an attempt to punish them for speaking out against the government-backed assault on protesters.

In a disturbing twist, SaharaReporters gathered that although the Kwara Magistrate Court did not sit on the matter, the police secured a remand order directly from the court registrar, bypassing judicial processes to keep the activists in detention.

SaharaReporters made efforts to get the reaction of Kwara State Police Command Spokesperson DSP Ejire Toun for comment, but she did not answer repeated calls made to her on Tuesday.

The arrests come days after thugs, reportedly escorted by two mobile police officers from the Kwara State Government House, violently dispersed protesters who were demanding accountability and transparency from the state government.

The thugs were allegedly led by one Kale Alanamu and backed by Alhaji Muyideen Aliyu, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Security, alongside Sadiq Buhari, who was visibly present during the attack.

Eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that during the July attack, the thugs not only brutalised the protesters but also assaulted plainclothes officers from the State Intelligence Department (SID) who were covertly monitoring the demonstration.

Phones belonging to protesters were confiscated, and sensitive videos were deleted by the police officers accompanying the thugs.

History Of Clampdown On Critics

"This is not the first time the Kwara State Government has used security operatives to arrest and detain critics,” a police source told SaharaReporters. “They usually deploy officers like Inspector Ojo Samuel and Inspector Aluya Ezekiel from the Monitoring Unit for these shady activities.”

Another officer noted the hypocrisy of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration, pointing out that the governor has neither publicly mourned nor visited the families of police officers killed in Kwara North last month.

"Yet, he is quick to use the same police force to arrest harmless critics for merely speaking the truth," the officer said.

The officer also revealed how two of the thugs arrested during the protest attack were quickly released on the orders of Government House officials, while the victims of the attack were charged.

"The government didn't go after the thugs who brutalised people in front of the world. Instead, they filed petitions against the victims," he lamented.

One of the detained activists, Musa Tsaragi, recounted how Kale Alanamu’s thugs attacked him while Sadiq Buhari sat comfortably inside a Toyota Siena vehicle, observing and directing the assault.

According to him, the vehicle was driven by Alhaji Muyideen Aliyu, accompanied by two mobile police officers who forcefully seized phones and deleted protest footage.

“Sadiq Buhari is from my town; I know him well. He sat inside the Siena and pointed at me while they brought two thugs and police officers who beat us,” Tsaragi told SaharaReporters.

He added that the police must produce the two mobile officers who confiscated their phones, insisting that the authorities were fully aware of their identities.

On June 30, SaharaReporters reported how former federal lawmaker Hon. Mashood Mustapha appeared in court over a defamation suit filed against him by the governor after he publicly condemned the government’s demolition of his property without due process.

Mustapha, a respected figure and traditional title holder as the Wakilin of Ilorin Emirate, described the demolition as arbitrary and vindictive, claiming it occurred just three hours after tenants were served vacation notices.

His legal defence team included lawyers such as Prof. Kayode Olatoke, SAN; Mr Emeka Etiaba, SAN; Mr Jimoh Adebimpe Abdulmumini, SAN; Mr George Ibrahim, SAN; and others.