Rights Group Condemns Detention of Man for Online Criticism

Amnesty International has condemned the Nigerian Police’s illegal imprisonment of a man for his online criticism of a government figure.

The police detained Abubakar Salim in Abuja after conducting surveillance in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State, Northwest Nigeria, according to Amnesty International’s official X account. According to reports, the arrest took place prior to Amnesty’s Wednesday public announcement.

The group demanded that Mr. Salim be released as soon as possible by the Nigerian government. “Abubakar Salim must be freed immediately and without conditions by the Nigerian government. Criticizing a government official should not result in punishment.

The organization denounced the police and called the arrest a “abduction” and “abuse of power,” even if the precise social media post that led to Mr. Salim’s imprisonment is unknown at the time of this report.

“Abubakar Salim’s detention demonstrates blatant misuse of power, and he did not conduct any crimes. He has the right to criticize any government official, regardless of their stature or position.

“It is unacceptable and demonstrates disrespect for the rule of law to detain Abubakar Salim merely for exercising his right to free speech.”

Amnesty International claims that neither the police nor his attorneys were informed of the reasons why security personnel were keeping an eye on him before he was apprehended by heavily armed guards.

The police allegedly denied detaining him at their facility, according to the family. However, according to Amnesty International, Mr. Salim was being held at Abbatoir, “a notorious police detention center where past detainees were tortured.”

This incident demonstrates a history of disagreements over the detainee’s whereabouts and the arresting authority.

Samuel “Sammy West” Daniels, the brother of actress and filmmaker Regina Daniels, was recently arrested by the Lagos State Police Command, however his family stated that the police made the arrest.

Later, the police explained that Mr. Daniels was taken into custody by officers dispatched from Abuja on a formal mission.

Arbitrary arrest trend
Amnesty International, however, denounced Mr. Salim’s arrest on Wednesday as a violation of his right to free speech and highlighted the alarming practice of detaining people for criticizing public authorities on social media.

“Young people’s freedom of expression in Nigeria is under growing threat.” For merely voicing their ideas online, many young Nigerians have faced threats, arrests, unlawful incarceration, and abuse. This is inappropriate and illegal.

An X user echoed Amnesty International’s comments and bemoaned the practice of arbitrary arrests, stressing the need to raise awareness of the problem in order to guarantee justice.

“Freedom of speech is allowed, but freedom after is not guaranteed,” stated liberal Misterko. Unfortunately, this is the current situation. To guarantee that justice is served, we must all take a stand and spread the word.

The situation involving Mr. Salim is a sign of a systemic problem rather than an individual incidence. For example, in July 2025, Abubakar Gossima, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was arrested by Jigawa State police for what close associates said was a social media message that was considered disrespectful to a politician.