After Ngige, Malami, alleged plot to arrest Atiku, Amaechi, El-Rufai, Aregbesola raises alarm

A civil society organisation has raised fresh concerns over an alleged plan to arrest and detain leading opposition figures, warning that the move could deepen political tension and further weaken opposition politics in the country.

The group alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi are among prominent figures marked for arrest in what it described as a coordinated security operation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the organisation’s coordinator, Adekunle Adebayo, said the alleged plot has heightened anxiety within opposition circles and could be part of a broader strategy to pave the way for a de facto one-party state.

According to the group, the planned arrests are allegedly linked to a covert, multi-agency security directive coordinated from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and implemented through a task force involving anti-corruption, intelligence and financial crime agencies.

“The arrests are linked to a covert multi-agency security directive allegedly coordinated from the Office of the National Security Adviser and executed through a task force involving anti-corruption, intelligence and financial crime agencies,” Adebayo said.

The organisation further claimed that the alleged strategy goes beyond arrests, accusing the authorities of selectively enforcing the law, detaining political opponents without charge, pressuring politically exposed persons to defect to the ruling party, disrupting lawful opposition meetings, encouraging internal divisions within opposition parties and deploying prolonged court cases to exhaust opposition resources.

Operating under the platform “Bí a bá pa ìtàn mọ́, ìtàn á pa wa” – translated as “When truth is suppressed, it eventually destroys those who suppress it” – the group also alleged that former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami, Kashim Imam and other notable figures are being targeted.

It said the alleged plot follows earlier arrests and detentions involving politicians such as Aminu Tambuwal, Abubakar Malami and Chris Ngige.

The organisation described the reported plan to arrest El-Rufai as particularly disturbing, noting that his administration has been under investigation for more than two years without any proven evidence of personal wrongdoing, despite what it described as intense scrutiny.

Warning of dire consequences, the group said the alleged actions, if carried out, would constitute serious violations of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including infringements on the rights to personal liberty, freedom of association and expression, equality before the law and judicial independence.

It stressed that the selective application of law enforcement based on political affiliation undermines constitutional democracy and poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s democratic order.