A public affairs analyst and activist, Adekunle Adebayo, has raised the alarm over what he described as a plot to arrest and intimidate key opposition figures in Nigeria, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
Adebayo disclosed this in a statement made available on Tuesday, warning that the alleged move forms part of a wider strategy to weaken opposition politics and entrench 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 been marked for arrest.
According to him, other prominent political figures, including Isa Ali Pantami, Rauf Aregbesola, Kashim Ibrahim Imam, and others, are also being targeted.
Adebayo further claimed that the alleged plan follows earlier arrests and detentions of former governors of Sokoto and Anambra states, Aminu Tambuwal and Chris Ngige, as well as former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
He warned that if the reported arrests are carried out, they would amount to serious violations of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), citing threats to personal liberty, freedom of association and expression, equality before the law, and the independence of the judiciary.
“Selective application of law enforcement based on political affiliation is incompatible with constitutional democracy,” Adebayo stated.
He urged Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the international community to closely monitor unfolding events, cautioning that the country risks sliding into a system where democratic institutions exist only in form, while political power is consolidated through coercion and selective justice.
