Last week, a social critic and vocal commentator, Musa Azare was arrested for allegedly criticizing the policies and programs of the Bauchi State Government under the leadership of the Governor Mohammed Abubakar.
Musa’s arrest coming after several arrest has been made by the Police in Bauchi before now, however, one curious thing that has been seen is that, in most of the arrest the State Government has either at point or the other denied making such arrest.
For instance in the case of Musa Azare, Azare, it was gathered that a deputy commissioner of police in the state was deployed from Bauchi to carry out the arrest in Abuja while the governor was in faraway China.
However, this medium gathered from reports that the State Governor upon his return over the weekend gave directive that Musa Azare should be released.
It was also learnt that the Governor stated the above assertion in his verified Twitter handle, that after reading the reports of the blogger’s alleged offences, stated that as a lawyer, he believes in freedom of speech.
Also when the Secretary of the Bauchi Coalition Against Financial Crimes and Injustice was arrested by the Bauchi Police Command at his residence in Kano allegedly on the orders of the Bauchi State Government, everyone in Bauchi and Nigeria at large were aware that the arrest was a result of the Open letters written by the Anti-Corruption Group exposing an alleged corruption carried out by the Bauchi State Government which was published on the media.
However, hardly the issue of his arrest took long, the then Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Yakubu Ibn Mohammed made a statement that Bauchi State Government never had a hand in the arrest of Yakubu Alhaji Jibrin, not only that he also stated that Yakubu was arrested by the Kano State Police Command thereby exonerating the Bauchi State Police Command from the arrest of Yakubu.
In the story titled: “BAUCHI DECLARES ‘WAR’ ON SOCIAL CRITICS-OPPOSITION…”IT’S RANTING OF DISCREDITED POLITICIANS”-YAKUBU IBN MOHAMMED, S.A MEDIA TO GOV. ABUBAKAR,” these are his words concerning the arrest of the critics of the Governor; “…”LET ME SAY WITH ALL EMPHASIS AT MY DISPOSAL THAT NONE OF GOV.MOHAMMED’S SO CALLED ‘CRITICS’ HAS BEEN ARRESTED IN BAUCHI STATE, BECAUSE AS A DEMOCRAT, THE GOVERNOR IS OF FIRM BELIEF IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH WITHIN THE AMBIT OF THE LAW…YAKUBU JIBRIN WAS ARRESTED IN KANO BY PERSONNEL OF THAT STATE POLICE COMMAND WHICH IS OUTSIDE GOV. ABUBAKAR’S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE AND CONTROL….”
However, following the Governor’s but some social critics and Vocal commentators in the State who pleaded anonymity have come out since after the arrest of Musa Azare to ask if the Governor has exonerated himself from the arrest of Azare, the way former media aide also washed off the hands of the Bauchi State Government from the arrest of Yakubu Jibrin, “ who then is responsible,” they asked.
“We have heard reports that the Governor directed through his official twitter handle, to release Musa Azare, just like his former Media aide Yakubu Ibn Mohammed exonerated the State Government during the arrest of Yakubu Jibrin, the question we ask is this, who is responsible for these arrests.”
According to them, it has been reported by an online news medium, that the Acting Inspector General of Police has ordered for the commissioner of Police Bauchi State as well as the officers that came for arrest of Musa Azare to report to Police Headquarters, speaking further they said if the report is true, then the former Police Commissioner in Bauchi who under his rule Yakubu Jibrin, Bibi Dogo were all arrested, should be also made to report to the Acting Inspector General of Police and answer or respond to the IGP whether they arrests was made on his own accord or he was ordered by any person(s).