…As Family members accused Police, Katsina Govt of attempts to Poison Him
BY Maryam Musa
While the controversy over the arrest and illegal incarceration of business man, human rights activists and former newspaper columnist, Mr. Mahdi Shehu is on going despite efforts by police authorities at Luis Edit House in Abuja to conceal the illegal arrest and to ensure zero publicity against gross violation of due process and rule of law, the owner of the Dialogue Group of Companies through family sources have raised serious concerns to DESERT HERALD about his safety and how IGP Mohammed Adamu was used to illegally incarcerate him.
DESERT HERALD can now confirm that Mr. Mahdi, a vocal critic of the Katsina State Government and also a whistleblower was indeed arrested on the orders of Governor Aminu Bello Masari on Tuesday 27th November, 2020. A family source who pleaded not to be mentioned told this reporter that since then precisely one week now all efforts to secure his bail was frustrated even though the complaints that was forwarded by the Katsina Government despite abuse of Court processes are bailable offences.
He told DESERT HERALD that Mahdi’s life is in danger as there was attempts to poison him while in police detention. The failure of the Police to arraigned Mr. Mahdi within 48 hours as stipulated by the law and the manipulation of a Magistrate Court to secure a questionable order for the extension of his stay in incarceration was widely condemned by Nigerians.
The arrest of Mahdi took the following intriguing steps. On October 2, 2020, the Attorney General of Katsina State took the following steps. He wrote a direct criminal complaint against Mahdi to the Katsina State Commissioner of Police notifying him of the intention of the Governor to have Shehu Madi arrested.
Consequently, the Commissioner raised a First Information Report (FIR) on the Whistleblower and went to a Katsina Magistrate Court 1.
While the case is still subsisting at the Magistrate Court and in an abuse of Court process, the Katsina State Government again hurriedly went to a Katsina State High Court 7 with virtually the same allegations that was earlier filed at the Chief Magistrate Court.
Not done, the Katsina State Government rushed to a Sharia Court and without waiting for a court ruling the Government dashed to the Upper Sharia Court, GRA Katsina and filed same suit with the same complain, word for word.
Thus in a space of one week, the Katsina State government had filed 4 cases against Dr. Mahdi and in the same week, while the case was still subsisting in at the Chief Magistrate Court 1, the Kastina government initiated moves for his arrest.
It has become obvious that even after filling four cases the process will be too low for the government to tolerate and that the general conclusion is that before the cases are over Mr. Mahdi will continue to do more damage to the government and its key officials notably the Secretary to the State Government, SSG.
DESERT HERALD gathered from authoritative sources at the office of IGP Adamu and through one of the wives of the detained activist that the IGP was subjected to intense pressure before he finally ordered for Mahdi’s arrest. Our credible sources confided that Governor Masari was personally at the Force Headquarters together with the owner of Max Air, Dahiru Mangal, the embattled Katsina SSG, the Katsina State Attorney General and Senator Bello Mandia.
Also in the powerful encourage to see the IGP includes Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. At the Police Headquarters, this paper learnt they filed the same complaint as they did in Katsina and reportedly insisted that Mahdi must be arrested even though the cases are all in Court for hearing, determination and judgement.
This paper gathered that the embattled Mahdi Shehu was in Abuja last Tuesday to deliver a paper at the J.K.Gadzama Chambers as the guest speaker in an annual lecture. Within minutes of his arrival at the venue the police numbering over 50 surrounded the area and threatened to arrest him and to stop his presentation.
When the convener of the conference, J.K. Gadzama SAN resisted attempts to arrest his invitee, the police then extended invitation to him to report to the Force Headquarters and thereafter monitor his movements closely. His formal arrest was effected at the Police Headquarters.
Since last Tuesday, DESERT HERALD can reveal the police have move Mahdi from one place to another, denying all efforts to secure his bail. During a visit to Mr. Mahdi by DESERT HERALD, he confirmed reported attempts to poison him and told this paper that whatever happens to him in incarceration or even after, the police and Katsina government should be held responsible and vowed never to stop his campaign of injustice against the people of his home state of Katsina and what he referred as “unprecedented looting of their treasury”.
DESERT HERALD further learnt that the Police on Monday had succeeded in getting what Mahdi referred to as illegal and fraudulent order from a Chief Magistrate Court to enable them detained him for additional two weeks. This paper can authoritatively confirm that Mahdi is presently under detention at the Force CID Headquarters at Area 3, Garki, Abuja.
During a visit by Mahdi’s lawyer to his detention centre at Garki, Mahdi was quoted to have said “it is an irony that the current IGP was once a victim of injustice and in fact that was why he was sent to the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Jos as a punishment but Allah safe him from injustice but now he is the same man being used to perpetrate injustice against innocent people.
Don’t he fear retribution?
Don’t he fear the law of tamar?
Does he think he is going to remain as the IGP permanently?
In another development, even as Mahdi remains incarcerated, credible sources confided in this paper that the Director General of the DSS, Mr. Bichi has also extended invitation to him regarding same matter.
Also, three months ago Governor Masari has reportedly met the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana Monguno and convinced him to write a security report against Mr. Mahdi describing him in that report as a security risk. Most likely because the security report has no substance the President did not act on it.
Speaking about Madhi’s arrest, the National President of Campaign For Democracy, Abdul Bako said, ” it amounts to abuse of court process and smacks of conspiracy to silent a man that has been fighting for good governance.
Where is the rule of law? Clearly, the IGP is being used otherwise he should have allowed the courts to determine the guilt or otherwise of Mahdi Shehu. The purpose of all these harassment is to silence him.
We are holding them accountable if anything happens to him”. Bako further added, “if after today, Madhi is not charged to court or release, we the human right bodies would take legal steps to guarantee that he is released”.
