Tension has risen in Kazaure, Jigawa State, after police arrested a senior All Progressives Congress (APC) member and ally of Senator Babangida Hussain, witnesses and party sources said on Saturday.
Comrade Hannafi Yakubu Jawo, chairman of the “Wali People First” support group for Hussain, who represents Jigawa Northwest Senatorial District, was detained at his home in the early hours of the morning, according to local residents.
Political associates said the arrest followed a petition by Hussain’s personal assistant, Muhammad Alhassan, also known as Dan Alhassan. They linked the move to a dispute over empowerment materials distributed under the senator’s programmes.
“I was in my house this morning when the police came and arrested me… they took me straight to the Area Command headquarters,” Jawo told Tribune Online from detention.
He said the dispute arose after he demanded items earmarked for his group through the local government council but was told by the senator’s aide that they had been stolen. “When genuine explanations were not given, I voiced my concerns on social media under my constitutional right to free expression,” Jawo said.
Jawo alleged that his detention was meant to silence him. “I suspect the plan is to detain me till Monday so I will suffer for two days,” he said. He added that Senator Hussain would not support intimidation or cheating.
Efforts to reach Alhassan were unsuccessful. Calls and messages to his mobile phone went unanswered.
Jigawa police spokesperson SP Lawal Shi’isu Adam said he had not yet been briefed on the matter. “It has not reached the level where I would be briefed, as there is no emergency attached to it,” he told newsmen.