Yunusa Umar
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Minna Branch, has accused the Niger State Police Command of arbitrarily detaining a local government chairmanship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Abdulmalik Usman Nagenu, and demanded his immediate release.
In a petition dated 18th November 2025 and addressed to the Commissioner of Police, the NBA Human Rights Committee said Nagenu has been held in a police cell since 4th November 2025 without being informed of any specific offence or being arraigned before a competent court.
The committee described the detention as a “flagrant infringement of his constitutional rights” and an abuse of due process.
According to the petition, Nagenu was a chairmanship aspirant in the Bida Local Government Area Council election conducted on 1st November 2025, but his name and party logo were allegedly omitted from the ballot. The lawyers argued that instead of allowing him to challenge the issue before the appropriate tribunal, the police detained him in circumstances they believe amount to political suppression.
“Our client was arrested and has been languishing in the police cell in clear violation of his constitutional rights,” the petition reads. “There is no clear definition of his alleged offence, let alone arraigning him before a competent court to defend himself.”
The NBA urged the Commissioner of Police to order Nagenu’s immediate and unconditional release, insisting that the police have no legal basis to continue holding him.
The group warned that detaining a political candidate without charge especially during an election cycle constitutes a dangerous precedent and violates Chapter Four of the 1999 Constitution, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
The petition was signed by five lawyers: M. A. Abugi, Y. G. Koroka, Shehu Usman, J. O. Okebbe, and G. M. Mustapha, and copied to top government and judicial officials including the Inspector-General of Police, the Niger State Governor, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Chief Judge of Niger State, and the National Human Rights Commission.
As of press time, the Niger State Police Command has not publicly responded to the allegations.
