Amnesty Accuses Sokoto Government of Targeted Repression Against Activist

Amnesty International has accused Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu of using the Nigeria Police Force to silence dissent, alleging that activist Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff is being targeted and prosecuted solely for speaking out against banditry in the eastern part of the state.

According to the rights organization, Hamdiyya was abducted by armed men on 13 November 2024 while attempting to retrieve her mobile phone from a charging point. She was reportedly beaten, forced into a tricycle, and later thrown out of the moving vehicle, sustaining serious injuries. Amnesty International added that she had earlier suffered a similar abduction on 20 May, during which she was beaten and abandoned in a bush in neighbouring Zamfara State.

The group described Governor Aliyu’s approach to critics as “frightening intolerance,” warning that punitive actions against citizens for expressing dissenting opinions have no place in a democratic society. It insisted that no individual should face reprisals merely for criticizing government response to insecurity.

Amnesty International said the pattern of harassment suggests that Hamdiyya is being persecuted for condemning banditry and urging authorities to protect communities in the region.

The organization called on the Sokoto State Government and federal security agencies to shift focus from suppressing critics to addressing the widespread insecurity ravaging communities in eastern Sokoto, where gunmen have continued to kill residents, burn villages, attack mosques and abduct women and girls on a near-daily basis.