The Sokoto State faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a swipe at the State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, for allegedly ordering the arrest of Shafi’u Tureta, the Special Adviser on Media to the immediate past governor, Aminu Tambuwal.
The PDP said the arrest of Shafi’u Tureta for sharing a video of Governor Aliyu stuttering while speaking English at a public function and also spraying naira notes during his wife’s birthday party was wrong.
Shafi’u Tureta, a Special Assistant on Media to Senator Aminu Tambuwal, was arrested by policemen on Sunday. The Sokoto State Police Command has yet to give official statement on the reason for the arrest.
Also, the Sokoto North District Senator, Aminu Tambuwal, has yet to issue statement on the arrest.
However, PDP, in a statement, accused Governor Aliyu of harassing and assaulting dissenting opinions. PDP added that the Governor ought to hold his camera and media team responsible for the leaked videos and not Tureta who only shared a video.
The party, in a statement made available by its spokesman, Hassan Sanyinnawal, reminded the Sokoto State Governor that sharing videos of a public official is not a crime against Nigeria law.
It read, “We, first of all, wish to draw the attention of the governor to the fact that the visuals in question must have been recorded by cameramen attached to his own office or his family and initially leaked to the public by the same personnel.
“It is also not a crime under Nigerian law to make public, videos of the governor’s public engagements or events attended by his family, however embarrassing they may be.
“It is, therefore, the governor’s task or that of his aides to ensure that such materials do not get to the public arena.
“PDP wishes to caution the Sokoto State Government of its fast worsening human rights record, occasioned by its notoriety for harassment and assault on dissenting opinion.
“We hereby, counsel the governor to turn his energy towards improving on the dismal performance of his regime, rather than the desperate struggle to stifle freedom of expression in the state
“The PDP demands the immediate, unconditional release of Shafi’u Umar Tureta and a final stop to the brutality meted by the Sokoto State Government on citizens for simply exercising their constitutional right to criticizing bad governance and unbecoming conduct by those in power in the state.”
