The police in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have arrested a Kaduna State-based businessman and critic of the Nigerian government’s corrupt practices, Alhaji Mahdi Shehu, in Area 10, Garki.
SaharaReporters learnt that Shehu, a business mogul, was arrested on Friday, November, 27, while he was presenting a paper at a seminar in Abuja by the police.
Mahdi Shehu
It was gathered that he had since been in detention at Federal Bureau for Criminal Investigation, Area 10, Garki, for reasons yet to be disclosed by the police.
However, it was gathered that Shehu, a Katsina State-born realist, had recently been critical of the government’s policies in Katsina State, over the alleged monumental corruption under the current administration of Governor Aminu Masari.
A statement made available to the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kaduna State council on Sunday by Murtala Abubakar, an associate of Shehu, confirmed the arrest.
He described the action as an attempt to intimidate the businessman from further exposing official corruption in Nigeria, particularly in Katsina State.
The statement partly reads, “Whistleblower Alhaji Mahdi Shehu was arrested Friday in Abuja for an undisclosed reason and has been in police detention at Federal Bureau for Criminal Investigation, Area 10, Garki.
“This is another form of intimidation effort designed to silence him from further exposing official corrupt tendencies in Nigeria, particularly in Katsina State where in recent time, he released a lot of hard evidence of the acts of corruption perpetrated by officials of the state government.
“Instead of the police authorities to investigate and invite people that are linked to those cases of corruption, the police now turned against the whistleblower for standing against corruption. This unfortunate development could discourage other citizens from coming forward to expose corrupt practices, the consequence of which could negate the present government’s anti-corruption war.
“Mahdi’s arrest was carried out in Abuja at a venue of a seminar where he earlier made a paper presentation as a resource person.”
