Outrage over DSS arrest of Ganduje’s aide, Yakasai

Sodiq Oyeleke

Many Nigerians on social media have condemned the arrest of Salihu Tanko Yakasai hours after criticising the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the rise in school kidnappings.

The PUNCH had reported that Yakasai, who was until Saturday afternoon, a media aide to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, was arrested by the Department of State Services on Friday.

Speaking with The PUNCH on Saturday, the father of the governor’s aide and a founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum and elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said his son was arrested on Friday on his way to a barbing salon in Kano, the state capital.

Though the DSS in Kano State denied arresting the younger Yakasai, it was gathered that he might have been taken to the DSS headquarters in Abuja.

The arrested aide had called on the President, Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)-led regime to either deal with bandits in the country or resign.

The embattled media aide was sometimes 2020 suspended from office for several weeks having earlier criticised Buhari over his failure to tackle the security challenges bedeviling the country.

Reacting, some tweeps argued that though Ganduje has the right to sack Yakasai, it was wrong for the aide to be arrested.

One of them, @jato_monday, said, “Granted that Gov. Ganduje has the right to sack @dawisu
being his aide or appointee, what concerns DSS with the rightful expression of his opinion on governance? The most drastic action would have been expelling him from the ruling party; which is the function of APC leadership.”

@Arakunrin_MFR said, “The DSS has the intelligence to apprehend individuals who express their grievances freely about the irresponsibility of government towards insecurity but can’t arrest perpetrators of criminality against the citizens. Nigeria remains a banana republic #FreeDawisu.”

@Adamsnoahoj added, “This is the time to make a change and not the time for a blame game.
Now that everyone is gradually realising that this government is clueless, biased and don’t care about the well-being of its citizen. Let all join hands and ask for good governance.”

@rawlings101 queried, “Wait does this government expect us to keep silent while we suffer?”

@EiENigeria noted that “The arrest of @dawisu by the DSS is a dangerous sign of a government that fears it is losing its mandate and is falling into panic.

“Critics are being arrested on ludicrous charges while bandits roam free, tells us very clearly where Nigeria is headed.”

@novieverest decried that “Dawisu is at the DSS office, Sheikh Gumi is shaking the hands of terrorists. You are safer dealing with terrorists than criticising Buhari.” (The PUNCH)