The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to stage a national demonstration in the event that Aminu Muhammed, a student at the Federal University of Technology, Dutse, Jigawa State, remains in custody.
Aisha Buhari, the president’s wife, is said to have given the order to arrest and imprison Mohammed.
The 24-year-old tweeted in Hausa in June that the First Lady was spending money intended for the impoverished on herself rather than the underprivileged.
The tweet read, “Su mama Anchi Kudin Talakawa an koshi,” meaning, “Mama has fed fat on poor people’s money.”
Later, he was brought to court and remanded.
Usman Barambu, the national president of NANS, declared in a statement that, beginning on December 5, 2022, students around the nation would stage demonstrations in support of Muhammad’s release.
The protest, according to the statement, was directed against Mrs. Buhari and Inspector General of Police Usman Baba.
It read, “Sequel to the exhaustion of all options available to us before confrontation in seeking the freedom of one of us who was arrested in a questionable manner, tortured, molested, harassed, and detained by agents of government, you are hereby notified of the decision of the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students to proceed on a nationwide protest.
“We have consulted and consolidated, but neither has yielded desirable results in seeking the freedom of Aminu Adamu Muhammed, a student of the Federal University, Dutse; hence, the protest shall commence as follows: Monday, December 5, 2022. Please note that our demonstration shall continue until he is released unconditionally.”
While this was going on, several Nigerians on social media criticized Mohammed over a tweet he sent out a few months earlier about the lynching of Deborah Yakubu, a student at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto.
On May 12, 2022, a crowd stoned Yakubu and set him on fire for supposed blasphemy.
Mohammed had tweeted on May 15 in support of killing Deborah, along with a picture of a white blouse with Deborah‘s visage.
The killers were denounced by the shirt’s inscribed phrase, “Murdered by peace.”
However, Mohammed, in his tweet, said, “Duk Wanda yasa wannan rigar ah Bauchi sai munchi uwarsa” meaning “whosoever wears this shirt in Bauchi will be dealt with.”
Many Nigerians withdrew their support in response to the tweet because they thought Mohammed should be punished.
A Twitter user, @DavidHundeyin wrote, “I earnestly apologise for retweeting the appeal to free this fellow. May he remain inside that cell for as long as Deborah’s family is denied justice, plus some extra time for accrued interest.”
